Charlie Javice found guilty of fraud in $175M JPMorgan deal

Charlie Javice, was found guilty of fraud after inflating user data in JPMorgan’s $175M acquisition deal.

Charlie Javice, the founder of Frank, a college financial aid startup, has been found guilty of fraud after deceiving JPMorgan Chase into acquiring her company for $175 million.

Federal prosecutors accused Javice of falsely inflating user numbers to make the startup appear more valuable.

Javice, 32, was indicted in 2023 on multiple charges, including securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. Prosecutors revealed that while she claimed Frank had 4.25 million users, the company only had about 300,000 verifiable accounts. She allegedly hired an external party to fabricate data after her own engineering team refused.

JPMorgan purchased Frank in 2021 to expand its reach among college students, but the deal unraveled when the bank attempted to verify user data. Jennifer Roberts, head of Chase consumer banking, initially saw the acquisition as a way to build long-term customer relationships.

Javice now faces up to 30 years in prison for wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy, while securities fraud carries a maximum 20-year sentence.

Her chief growth officer, Olivier Amar, was also charged but did not testify. His legal team argued he was not involved in the fraud, instead placing blame solely on Javice.

Despite her lawyer Jose Baez arguing the case lacked evidence, the jury convicted Javice of orchestrating the fraudulent scheme.