SF Millionaire Pleads Not Guilty to Domestic Violence Charges

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By Indiawest

Gurbaksh Chahal, an Internet millionaire who founded his first company at age 16, pleaded not guilty Aug. 9 in San Francisco, Calif., Superior Court, to 47 charges of domestic violence in connection with an argument with his girlfriend.

Chahal, 31, posted a $1 million bail and relinquished his passport to authorities after his arraignment. He will next appear in court Sept. 13. Forty-five of the charges against Chahal are felonies.

“The charges against Mr. Chahal are simply wrong. We will strongly fight and prove the allegations to be overblown,” said Chahal’s attorney, Stuart Gordon, in a press statement. He alleged that the victim has asked San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon to drop all charges.

“This is an example of overreaching by the DA’s Office. Even before the arraignment today, the young woman voluntarily asked the charges be dropped, met with the prosecution, and provided photographic proof of an unblemished complexion to SFPD authorities, all of which demonstrate the weakness of the allegations,” asserted Gordon.

Stepanie Ong Stillman, communications director at the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, told India-West that Gascon is nevertheless proceeding with the case.

“It is very common for domestic violence victims to want charges to be dropped,” she said, adding: “In a case such as this one, there is enough evidence to prove a reasonable doubt.”

“Mr. Chahal is being charged with 47 counts — 45 are felonies. These are serious charges and our office will prosecute this case to the fullest extent,” said Stillman.

According to documents filed with the Superior Court and obtained by India-West, Chahal reportedly hit the woman at least 117 times during an assault on the evening of Aug. 5 at his home in downtown San Francisco.

Chahal is also accused of assaulting the victim with a deadly weapon, a pillow.

A day before the alleged domestic abuse, Chahal posted photos of himself on Facebook running in a marathon in Oak Creek, Wisc., which commemorated the six lives taken in a 2012 massacre at the Oak Creek gurdwara. After the tragedy Chahal created the $1 million Be Proud Foundation, to create awareness about Sikh culture with the aim of stopping future hate crimes.

Chahal was 16 when he dropped out of school and founded his first company, Click Agents, a software designed to track hits to a Web site. The Indian American sold Click Agents two years later for $40 million.

Six years later, Chahal founded Blue Lithium, which tracked Internet users’ responses to banner ads on Web Site. Yahoo bought Blue Lithium for $300 million in 2007.

He is currently CEO of RadiumOne, a company he founded in 2009, currently valued at $500 million. Chahal’s personal net worth is believed to be $200 million.

The Punjabi native grew up in San Jose, Calif.

Read more at http://www.indiawest.com