A former Siemens CEO thought he was investing $2.5 million in Deepak Chopra’s app. Prosecutors say it was fraud.

Federal prosecutors say Klaus Kleinfeld was defrauded of nearly $2 million. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images Prosecutors say a startup co-founder bilked former Siemens CEO Klaus Kleinfeld of nearly $2 million. Kleinfeld thought he was investing in Deepak Chopra's wellness and meditation app. Chopra's company, Chopra Global, no longer has any relationship with the startup, his lawyer said. In 2023, a wellness entrepreneur pitched Klaus Kleinfeld, the former CEO of Siemens and Alcoa, on an opportunity to invest in Deepak Chopra's meditation app. Kleinfeld invested $2.5 million. Now federal prosecutors say the entrepreneur, Wanja Oberhof, embezzled most of that money, using it for personal expenses including back rent on his nearly $20,000-per-month Manhattan penthouse. In the criminal complaint against Oberhof filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the investor is identified as "Victim-1." A spokesperson for Kleinfeld confirmed that he was the investor.