IRL Founder Abraham Shafi Charged in $170M Fraud Scheme

Abraham Shafi, the founder of social media startup IRL, faces a $170 million fraud case from the Securities and Exchange Commission and a separate federal criminal indictment, accused of misleading investors about how the platform’s 12 million users were acquired. The SEC filed civil charges in the Northern District of California on July 31, 2024, and a federal grand jury in Oakland returned a criminal indictment in August 2025 charging Shafi with wire fraud, securities fraud, and obstruction.

IRL, short for “in real life,” was a social app for organizing offline events that briefly ranked among Apple’s top social apps in 2018. The company, formally Get Together Inc., raised $170 million in a 2021 Series C round that valued it at more than $1 billion. The SEC and the Department of Justice now allege that the user growth story Shafi sold to investors was built on millions of dollars in paid advertising that he hid from them.

A $170M Round Built on Misled Investors

Get Together Inc. pitched IRL as a viral social platform whose user base had grown on its own. In a 2021 Series C funding round, Shafi told prospective backers that the company spent only $50,000 a month on paid advertising and that user signups “were not incentivized or paid,” according to the Department of Justice indictment.

In reality, the company spent millions of dollars on incentive advertising, a format in which users receive a reward inside a third-party app for downloading IRL. To drive installs ahead of the Series C close, Shafi asked the company’s ad vendor for a “big burst” of ads over a few days, the indictment alleges. The round still closed at a valuation of more than $1 billion, attracting investors including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and the venture firm Floodgate.

When investors specifically asked about paid advertising during the Series C process, Shafi replied that “[u]nlike other apps that spend aggressively to acquire new users, we spend very little,” the DOJ alleges. The 12 million users the company claimed as organic became the centerpiece of a pitch that would later unravel in two federal courtrooms.

The Mechanics of Concealment

Hiding the incentive ad spend required more than creative accounting. The DOJ alleges that Shafi had the advertising invoices routed to a third-party firm, so the nature and size of the expense never appeared on IRL’s ledger.

After the Series C closed, the concealment continued. Shafi instructed an IRL employee to create false invoices that recoded the ad spending as “infra costs,” a category for infrastructure spending, and then told investors the money had been spent on other forms of advertising, the indictment alleges.

The SEC’s complaint describes a parallel set of misrepresentations in the offering documents themselves, which “significantly understated the company’s marketing expenses.” Together, the two agencies paint a picture of a company whose growth story was laundered through vendor relationships and falsified expense categories before it ever reached an investor’s data room.

When the SEC opened its investigation, the DOJ alleges, Shafi restored his cell phone to a previously saved backup, which deleted records, and instructed other IRL employees to lie about his involvement. That conduct became the obstruction count in the criminal indictment.

SEC’s Civil Case Names a ‘Relief Defendant’

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed its $170M fraud complaint against IRL’s founder on July 31, 2024, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint charges Shafi with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctive relief, civil money penalties, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and an officer-and-director bar against him.

The case also names Barbara Woortmann, Shafi’s fiancée, as a “relief defendant.” That designation is narrower than being charged with fraud. A relief defendant is a person the SEC pursues to recover funds it alleges were obtained through the fraud, even when that person is not accused of participating in the scheme. The SEC is seeking disgorgement of the personal expenses Woortmann charged to an IRL credit card that were ultimately paid with investor money.

As we alleged, Shafi took advantage of investors’ appetite for investments in the pre-IPO technology space and fraudulently raised approximately $170 million by lying about IRL’s business practices.

The quote comes from Monique C. Winkler, Director of the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office, in the agency’s July 31, 2024 press release announcing the charges.

DOJ Indictment Adds Wire Fraud and Obstruction

A federal grand jury in Oakland returned an indictment in August 2025 that escalates the legal exposure. The Department of Justice charged Shafi with wire fraud, securities fraud, and obstruction of justice, each tied to the same 2021 Series C scheme.

If convicted, Shafi faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The indictment names Shafi alone; Woortmann is not a defendant in the criminal case.

The investigation is being led by the FBI, with the case prosecuted by Acting Assistant Chief Attorney Laura Connelly of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sailaja Paidipaty and Evan Mateer for the Northern District of California. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti, U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian for the Northern District of California, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani announced the indictment.

The DOJ’s case runs in parallel to the SEC’s civil action, not in place of it. The indictment on wire fraud, securities fraud, and obstruction is the criminal counterpart to the SEC’s complaint.

From Unicorn to Shutdown

IRL’s collapse arrived before the indictments. The app launched in 2017 and climbed into Apple’s top social app rankings in 2018 on the strength of its pitch as a tool for organizing offline events. By the time of the 2021 Series C, it was a unicorn on paper.

Two years later, the company shut down. IRL’s board of directors decided to wind down the company, the SEC’s complaint notes, undone by internal turmoil and questions about inflated user numbers. The shutdown came before either the SEC complaint or the DOJ indictment was public.

Key figures from the case:

• $170 million raised in the 2021 Series C
• $1 billion post-round valuation
• 12 million claimed users
• $50,000 monthly ad spending Shafi told investors about
• IRL shut down in June 2023

Where the Investor Money Went

The indictment also describes how Shafi and Woortmann used the company’s finances.

The SEC complaint alleges that the couple charged “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to IRL’s business credit cards for personal expenses, including clothing, home furnishings, and travel.

The DOJ indictment goes further, cataloging specific categories of personal spending funded with investor money:

• Luxury hotel stays
• Luxury clothing
• Purchases from home furnishing retailers
• Thousands of dollars for art classes
• Hundreds of thousands of dollars for Shafi’s wedding, including payments for wedding guests’ airfare and luxury hotels

What the Two Cases Demand

The SEC civil case and the DOJ criminal case run in parallel and pursue different remedies. The civil action seeks money and bars; the criminal action seeks a conviction and prison time. The SEC’s complaint was filed on July 31, 2024, and the DOJ indictment was announced on August 27, 2025.

A side-by-side look at the two cases:

The IRL case sits alongside other recent large-scale fraud stories, including the $250M Minnesota pandemic fraud scandal (how a lone YouTuber pulled the thread on $250M in fraud) and new federal anti-fraud efforts such as the SBA’s sweeping contract audit (the SBA’s sweeping audit to crack down on contract fraud).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is IRL, the social media app at the center of the fraud case?

IRL, short for “in real life,” was a social media app for organizing offline events and activities. The company, formally known as Get Together Inc., launched in 2017 and briefly ranked among Apple’s top social apps in 2018. The app shut down in June 2023, two years after the Series C funding round at the center of the fraud case.

Who is Abraham Shafi?

Abraham Shafi is the founder and former CEO of Get Together Inc., the parent company of IRL. The SEC’s complaint identifies him as 37 years old and residing in Pepeekeo, Hawaii. The DOJ’s later indictment identifies him as 38.

How much money was raised in the alleged fraud?

Get Together Inc. raised approximately $170 million in its 2021 Series C funding round, which valued the company at more than $1 billion. Both the SEC and the DOJ allege that the pitch to investors was built on misrepresentations about the company’s user growth and advertising spending.

What is a “relief defendant” and what does it mean for Barbara Woortmann?

A relief defendant is a person the SEC pursues to recover funds it alleges were obtained through fraud, even when that person is not charged with participating in the scheme. The SEC named Barbara Woortmann, Shafi’s fiancée, as a relief defendant and is seeking disgorgement of personal expenses she charged to an IRL credit card. Woortmann is not a defendant in the DOJ’s criminal case.

What is the difference between the SEC civil case and the DOJ criminal case?

The SEC civil case, filed July 31, 2024, seeks injunctive relief, civil money penalties, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and an officer-and-director bar against Shafi. The DOJ criminal indictment, announced August 27, 2025, charges Shafi with wire fraud, securities fraud, and obstruction of justice, each carrying a maximum of 20 years in prison. The two cases run in parallel.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The matters described involve pending civil and criminal proceedings; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Figures and allegations are accurate as of the cited sources, and readers with concerns about investment fraud should consult a qualified attorney or relevant regulatory authority.