Fake ‘turbulance chip’ inventor sentenced to 1 year prison term in Türkiye

Cigdem Ilgun, a physics teacher in Istanbul teaching a private course, made false claims about developing a microchip designed to prevent turbulence in aircraft during flight. Once a TV guest posing as a genius, young inventor, Ilgun’s fraud was first discovered in April 2023.

Ilgun received small investments from multiple people after claiming that her invention will soon become a major investment worth $150 million.

She had registered a new company in Zeytinburnu at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 11, for the chip she had allegedly designed, which she called the CAFA chip.

Along with many other victims, she had made these false claims to one of her students, Dogukan K.

She said that the sale of this new technology would triple any investments. Believing this statement, Dogukan sent ₺40,000 ($1,131) to Ilgun.

When Dogukan did not receive either the principal or any returns on his investment, he contacted Marmara University in an attempt to locate Ilgun who had disappeared.

The university had no record of her employment. Authorities were notified, followed by an arrest warrant, which resulted in Ilgun’s arrest.

The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff and sentenced Ilgun to one year in prison.