Kaleil Isaza Tuzman

Kaleil Isaza Tuzman
Born	1971
Occupation	Digital media entrepreneur
Known for	Co-founder of GovWorks.com; CEO and chairman of JumpTV/KIT Digital

Kaleil Isaza Tuzman is a former digital media entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience prior to his 2017 conviction on multiple fraud charges. He launched his professional journey at Goldman Sachs and co-founded GovWorks.com, which was documented in the 2001 film Startup.com, capturing the company’s ascent and eventual collapse. Tuzman held the roles of CEO and chairman at JumpTV, later renamed KIT Digital, Inc., until the company declared bankruptcy in 2013.

On September 7, 2015, Colombian authorities arrested Tuzman in Bogotá, detaining him before extraditing him to the United States. He faced allegations of fraud and market manipulation concerning investor deception related to KIT Digital and two investment funds. In December 2017, he was found guilty on all counts.

Entrepreneurial life

Tuzman started his higher education at Brown University but transferred to Harvard University during his sophomore year. After earning his degree from Harvard, he spent five years working at Goldman Sachs before partnering with childhood friend Tom Herman to establish govWorks, Inc., an Internet startup. As CEO, Tuzman secured $60 million in venture capital. Following the collapse of the "dot-com bubble", govWorks was sold to First Data Corp. for nearly $12 million, an amount insufficient to cover its $35 million liabilities. The company's trajectory was featured in Startup.com (2001), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Subsequently, Tuzman founded Recognition Group (later renamed KIT Capital), specializing in exit planning, financial restructuring, and interim leadership for troubled businesses. KIT Capital facilitated the sale of Tigris Corp., a strategic sourcing and supply chain consultancy, to Verticalnet in 2004. In 2001, Recognition Group took control of KPE, a faltering web development division of Grey Global Group, where Tuzman served as CEO and chairman before selling it within a year to Mobilocity, Inc.

In May 2005, Tuzman assumed the presidency of JumpTV, a startup offering foreign IPTV content. Under his guidance, JumpTV emerged as a prominent global provider of syndicated international television via the Internet. Its initial public offering in August 2006, led by Morgan Stanley, raised over $60 million; a secondary offering less than a year later generated an additional $100 million. Tuzman divested a substantial portion of his shares by late 2007 prior to the company's decline.

Later that year, Tuzman acquired majority control of ROO Group and took on the roles of CEO and chairman. Through financial restructuring and acquisitions, ROO transformed into KIT digital, a leading comprehensive IP video service provider. KIT digital went public on the NASDAQ Global Market in August 2009 under the ticker "KITD". Tuzman departed from KIT digital in April 2012 but publicly sought to regain control via open letters accusing insiders of mismanagement that led to bankruptcy.

Arrest and conviction

Tuzman was apprehended in Colombia on September 7, 2015, facing charges related to accounting fraud; the following day saw the arrest of KIT Digital’s former CFO, Robin Smyth, in Australia. Along with Omar Amanat and Stephen Maiden—the manager of Maiden Capital hedge fund—they were implicated in three criminal conspiracies. The first involved hiding client losses at Maiden Capital through false representations linked to Enable Invest Ltd., a hedge fund operated by Amanat’s brother. The second scheme entailed manipulating KIT Digital’s stock price; Maiden inflated share prices artificially during a fundraising round prior to NASDAQ listing at the behest of Tuzman and Amanat. The third conspiracy was a two-year accounting fraud starting in 2010 that employed improper revenue recognition and fictitious round-trip transactions to exaggerate KIT Digital’s revenue figures. KIT Digital declared bankruptcy in 2013 before rebranding as Piksel, Inc.

While detained in Colombia, Tuzman was held in several prisons including La Picota in Bogotá. Due to harsh conditions, his legal team filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights. Supported by over 150 inmates reporting abuses such as inadequate medical treatment and extortion, this led to an investigation into Colombia’s prison system.

After extradition to the U.S., Tuzman's bail hearing in July 2016 revealed contradictory statements about his financial status; despite claiming limited assets and heavy debts, prosecutors highlighted his possession of a $70,000 watch prompting the judge to raise bail to $5 million. His trial began in October 2017 on twenty charges encompassing fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy, false SEC filings, and deceptive practices.

During the six-week trial, Smyth and Maiden—both former KIT executives who had pleaded guilty—testified for the prosecution outlining fraudulent activities orchestrated by Tuzman and Amanat. In December 2017, Tuzman was convicted on all counts including conspiracy for market manipulation, wire fraud conspiracy defrauding shareholders of KIT Digital, and accounting fraud conspiracy. Sentencing was postponed after an October 2018 hearing for further evidence review and ultimately occurred on September 10, 2021; Tuzman received three years probation. The judge considered his allegations of sexual assault while imprisoned in Colombia as a mitigating factor against additional incarceration.

Civil Litigation

Following his departure from KIT Digital and prior to his arrest, Tuzman pursued the development of the upscale hotel project "Convento Obra Pia" in Colombia. While awaiting sentencing related to the KIT Digital convictions, he became the subject of lawsuits from investors alleging the misappropriation of $5.4 million connected to the hotel development. As of May 2021, these legal proceedings had not reached a conclusion. In the same month, an additional lawsuit amounting to $6 million was initiated in a U.S. federal court. Tuzman responded by filing counterclaims against his investors, though these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

Publications and Media Endeavors

In 2004, Tuzman published The Entrepreneur's Success Kit: A 5-Step Lesson Plan to Create and Grow Your Own Business. Later, in 2020, he created and began hosting the radio program titled Equal Footing With Dov Tuzman.

External links

• Executive Profile: Kaleil Isaza Tuzman at Forbes
• Charlie Rose interview featuring Kaleil Isaza Tuzman on Startup.com
• "Startup.com: The Sequel" – Forbes, October 25, 2010
• "Second Act: 'Startup.com' Stars Reflect On Life A Decade Later" – The Wall Street Journal, July 16, 2010
• "Hulu IPO: Major test for Internet TV business" – CNN Money, August 16, 2010
• "KIT digital Buys 3 Video Companies for $77.2 Million" – Bloomberg, January 31, 2011
• "Roll 'Em Up! Video Back-End Company KIT Digital Buys KickApps, Kyte, Kewego" – All Things Digital, January 31, 2011
• "Exclusive: KIT digital Acquires KickApps, Kewego AND Kyte For $77.2 Million" – TechCrunch, January 31, 2011
• "Deal of the day: KIT digital expands" – The Financial Times, February 1, 2011
• "KIT buys ioko for $79.4m" – The Register, April 11, 2011
• "Kit Digital Ramps up Video Services with 1100 Customers As Revenue Doubles in 2009" – Beet.TV, April 2010
• "KIT Digital to Power Tribeca Film Festival Video Site" – Beet.TV, April 2010
• "HOW TO: Monetize Your Site With Video" by Kaleil Isaza Tuzman – Mashable, February 11, 2009