San Francisco tech startup founder and wife arrested

The founder of a San Francisco tech startup and his wife were arrested Thursday, when prosecutors unsealed a 25-count indictment that accuses the couple of bold financial fraud and an ill-gotten life of luxury.

Prosecutors slammed founder Alex Beckman and lawyer Valerie Lau with a laundry list of charges around allegedly defrauding investors in Beckman’s artificial intelligence startup — formerly known as GameOn Technology, now as ON Platform — out of $60 million. The indictment alleges the couple faked bank records and impersonated business contacts in a “brazen and wide-ranging” scheme that lasted from 2018 to 2024.

One allegation in the indictment stands out, in particular, for its brashness. Allegedly, when an ON investor wanted to see the company’s bank statement directly from the bank, they arranged a visit with Beckman. According to the indictment, Lau had a fake statement planted and placed in an envelope at the bank; when Beckman and the investor showed up, they received the envelope and its sheet purporting a $13 million account balance. In reality, the indictment says, that account had just $25.93 and showed Beckman had recently wired $320,000 to a member of his family.

Other allegations abound and are almost as bold. Beckman is accused of lying about how much he sold his previous startup for, faking audit reports and impersonating other employees using fake email addresses.

Beckman and Lau appeared in San Francisco court Thursday morning after they were arrested, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California. Their charges include conspiracies to commit wire, bank and securities fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft and obstruction of justice. Beckman’s and Lau’s lawyers did not immediately respond to SFGATE’s requests for comment.

ON slashed its staff in July after Beckman resigned under pressure, according to a report that month from GamesBeat. Citing an internal letter, the outlet reported that an investigation had found just 37 cents in an account that was supposed to hold $11 million. Beckman, in a statement to GamesBeat at the time, said, “While it is now convenient for the company to point the finger at me, the story is much more complicated than that. Innuendo and thinly veiled accusations insinuating that I personally benefited from any purported financial improprieties are simply false.”

Federal prosecutors seem to disagree. The indictment alleges that the swindled investor cash funded a high-dollar lifestyle for Beckman and Lau. The document says they used $4.2 million in investor funds to buy two San Francisco properties, with other cash going toward jewelry, cars, a social club that hosted their wedding, Beckman’s kids’ private school and paying personal credit card balances.

If Beckman and Lau are convicted, the indictment says, they will have to give up their San Francisco real estate — including a home in the swanky Presidio Heights neighborhood, a claim notice from the government shows — as well as a Tesla Model X.

Other allegations against Beckman and Lau popped up in a civil lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday. The agency, in the complaint, accuses Beckman of showing investors fictitious revenue reports from the NBA, NHL, PGA and Coca-Cola. 

Of note for local readers: San Francisco 49ers legend Joe Montana was an early investor in the company.

Work at a Bay Area tech company and want to talk? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at stephen.council@sfgate.com or on Signal at 628-204-5452.