Internet mogul gets year in jail in domestic violence case

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A Silicon Valley internet mogul who sold his startup for $300 million at the age of 25 and appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" as a highly eligible bachelor was sentenced Friday to a year in jail for violating his probation in a domestic violence case.

Assistant District Attorney O'Bryan Kenney called for a sentence of 18 months, saying Chahal had shown no remorse and committed a second act of violence just months after his domestic violence conviction.

Faced with the initial domestic violence charges, Chahal got help from powerful former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and the former chief financial officer for the state of California, Steve Westly, according to one of the lawsuits and emails between Westly and Chahal reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Chahal told Khraibut that he paid Brown a $250,000 retainer to exert pressure on the district attorney to dismiss the charges, saying Brown had the "juice" to make them disappear, the lawsuit said.

Westly, whose name has been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2018, said in a statement that he doesn't comment on ongoing legal cases but added that domestic violence in any form is inexcusable.