Former tech CEO Gurbaksh Chahal sentenced to one year in jail
Getty Images/Charley Gallay
A judge has sentenced Gravity4 founder Gurbaksh Chahal to 12 months in a county jail. The judge granted a stay to the sentence, pending an appeal from his attorney, according to Bloomberg's Ellen Huet.
Judge Tracie Brown found the tech CEO guilty in June of violating his probation and he was forced to turn over his passports. He also transferred ownership of what remains of his ad tech company to his sister.
In October 2014, the tech entrepreneur was taken into custody for allegedly kicking a woman multiple times, as first reported by the San Francisco Business Times. Chahal was already on probation after pleading guilty to two misdemeanors of battery and domestic violence in April 2014. A video of that attack, where he allegedly hit his then-girlfriend 117 times, was not allowed as evidence during the first case, but was factored into the sentencing hearing.
Chahal had gained fame in the tech community after he sold his first ad-tech company, ClickAgents, for $40 million. In 2007, Yahoo bought his next ad company, BlueLithium, for $300 million. He went on to found RadiumOne, another ad-tech company, before he and the company parted ways. Since then, Chahal has been building Gravity4, yet another ad-tech company that made a business out of buying other ad tech startups.
The judge set bail for Chahal at $250,000.
In a statement, Chahal's attorney reiterated Chahal is not in custody. "Mr. Chahal's sentencing was stayed today. He is not going into custody. The court is allowing the higher appellate court plenty of time and opportunity to 'get it right' to honor Mr. Chahal's full constitutional rights."
Gravity'4 general counsel, Patricia Glaser, posted her own notice statement on Gravity4's site: "Gravity4 has grown into a global advertising platform that is used by numerous Fortune 500 brands. The company has over 300+ dedicated employees, fulfilling our global vision across 19 countries. We have an accomplished CEO, who is a woman and a workforce composed of over 57% female, among 42% comprise the leadership positions. Today’s proceedings will have no impact on Gravity4’s operations across the globe, as we continue to produce outstanding results for our clients, and how the company is run in the foreseeable future.”