Each year that I’m left off of the Forbes 30 Under 30 year, I get increasingly offended. Am I now well over 30? Only according to medical doctors and my birth records! Despite the egregious snub, I’m slowly starting to realize that maybe being left out is a blessing in disguise. Formerly applauded AI girl boss Joanna Smith-Griffin was arrested on November 19, 2024, on charges of defrauding the investors she received after her 2021 30 Under 30 crowning — to the tune of 10 million buckaroonies. And the wildest part is, she’s far from the only one. Elizabeth Holmes, Martin Shkreli, and Sam Bankman-Fried are all recent career goals turned convicts that are making me wonder: is the Forbes 30 Under 30 curse real? I’ll let the examples speak for themselves.
What is the Forbes 30 Under 30 curse?
Astute financial minds (and me) have caught on to the ironic fact that a notable handful of Forbes‘ favorite minds have ended up in prison. The Guardian calls them the 30 under 30-year sentences (which has a pretty cute ring to it) while Boston University summarized the trend as the 30 Under 30 pipeline top prison. Basically, the same geniuses who generated billions for their innovations also collectively stole just as much as they’ve raised, according to the tab they ran up via court convictions. These 30 Under 30 winners have been proven to defraud investors of funds, overinflate profits, or just straight-up lie about a product’s effectiveness. Is Forbes accidentally cursing its best of class, or is their team just excellent at unintentionally finding scammers who were already dreaming too big for their britches? Most of the flashy examples are whiz kids who got famous in the first place for breaking the status quo set by their elder white business forefathers.
Sooo, maybe the pressure of outshining Steve Jobs is driving creatives to turn to criminality? Though it’s not the glass ceiling we necessarily want to see shattered, it is a little comical that women and millennials are low-key dominating the new frontier of scamming. And they say we don’t work as hard as our parents! I know correlation ain’t causation but maybeeee we should keep two eyes open on this year’s picks, just in case.
Who is Joanna Smith-Griffin?
@ryanaazehJoanna Smith-Griffin arrested for $10 million fraud♬ original sound – The Girl Ryan
Joanna was added to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2021 for her AI tech startup, AllHere Education, which she created in 2016. AllHere describes its MO as “foster[ing] family engagement” and “student success using mobile messaging powered by artificial intelligence…through an innovative platform and an intuitive chatbot.” So, basically, Joanna wanted to give the children access to “24/7” AI intelligence to increase engagement and lower missed days from school. When pop culture stans said, “Open the schools,” I’m not sure that’s what we meant (especially at the hefty cost AI puts on the environment). Still, nonetheless, her innovation was considered top-tier by the best in education. After Forbes minted her, the Los Angeles United School District offered her a six-figure contract in 2023.
What did Joanna Smith-Griffin get caught doing?
@relivesocial From Forbes 30 Under 30 list to allegations of defrauding, Joanna Smith-Griffin, founder of an AI tech start up called AllHere Education, is facing 40 years in prison for using company funds for personal uses including a lavish 3 day wedding in Miami. 💔 . Wedding Date: July 3, 2021 Wedding Planner: LK Signature Events Wedding Planner: Birch Event Design Photographer: Erica Melissa Photographer: Auguro Weddings Florals: Birch Event Design Venue: Moore Building Invitations: LK Signature Events Caterer: Creative Edge Parties Cake: Sweet Guilt by Angelica Lighting & Decor: Birch Event Design Lighting & Decor: PSID Group Music: DWP LIVE Factory Wedding Officiant: Marry Me Mendez Hair & Makeup: Britney Michelle Hair & Makeup: Natasha Gross Wedding Dress: Pronovias Wedding Dress: Vainglorious Brides . #weddingweekend #weddingday #weddingplanner #luxurywedding #luxurybride #bridallook ♬ original sound – Wedding Content Creator
According to indictment documents released by the U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York, Joanna Smith-Griffin allegedly “orchestrated a deliberate and calculated scheme to deceive investors” of $10 million worth of funds that were supposed to go toward growing AllHere. The charges include wire fraud, securities fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
How does the identity theft part come in? A rep from one of her investors’ companies started clocking that the numbers weren’t adding up (the NY AG’s reports claim that in 2021, Joanna misled investors to believe AllHere had generated $3.7 mil through non-existent contracts with school districts in New York and Atlanta when the total revenue was actually closer to $11,000). To try and throw outsiders off the scent, Joanna allegedly created fake emails posing as her own financial advisor to make the mess go away. I mean, you can’t say she didn’t think outside the box, right? The State alleges that at least $600K went to personal expenses such as her three-day wedding affair in Miami. When I say the OTT wedding industry is low-key the wild, wild west, this is my proof.
Need more proof of the “30 Under 30 Curse”? Keep reading.
Who has been arrested from the Forbes 30 Under 30 list?
Elizabeth Holmes
The quirky blonde, who got an entire TV show made after her blood testing flop Theranos, is serving out her 11-year sentence at Federal Prison Camp Bryan. She technically only hosted the Forbes Under 30 summit in 2015 but the point still stands.
Martin Shkreli
The pharma bro finished his (very demure) three-year sentence for securities fraud in 2022 after making headlines for drastically price-hiking a life-saving HIV drug, Daraprim, back in 2015.
Sam Bankman-Fried
The crypto king (using the term loosely) was sentenced to 25 years in prison for charges of conspiracy and money laundering related to his company, FTX. The prosecution argued his company’s demise was due to spending company funds on promoting a VIP lifestyle, including hobnobbing with celebs and politicians.
Charlie Javice
Charlie allegedly inflated her education tech company, Frank’s, numbers prior to the historic $175 million sale to J.P. Morgan Bank, as charged by the Justice Department in April 2023. She’s headed to trial to show if she did participate in all the frauds (as the charges claim): bank, wire, securities, the works.
Caroline Ellison
Caroline was Sam Bankman Fried’s co-worker, which, um didn’t end well. She was convicted in November 2024 and sentenced to two years at Danbury Prison in Connecticut for her work at his cryptocurrency hedge fund.
Trevor Milton
Trevor Milton, the founder of trucking company Nikola Corp, was convicted at the end of 2023 for using exaggerated numbers about the production of his zero-emission 18-wheelers to allegedly steal hundreds of thousands from investors.
