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Charlie Javice Convicted of Fraud in $175 Million JPMorgan Acquisition

The Frank founder was found guilty of inflating her startup's user base, facing up to 30 years in prison after a federal jury's verdict.

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Charlie Javice is the founder and former CEO of financial aid startup Frank.
Charlie Javice arrives, for her pretrial conference appearance in a criminal trial on charges of defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co., at Manhattan federal court in New York City, U.S., February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo
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Overview

  • Charlie Javice was convicted on four counts of fraud for deceiving JPMorgan Chase during its $175 million acquisition of her startup, Frank.
  • Prosecutors proved that Javice fabricated data to claim over 4 million users for Frank, when the actual number was fewer than 300,000.
  • The jury deliberated for eight hours over two days following a five-week trial in Manhattan federal court.
  • Javice, once celebrated as a fintech innovator and featured on Forbes' '30 Under 30,' now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
  • The case has spotlighted lapses in JPMorgan's due diligence, as executives admitted they relied on trust rather than verifying Frank's user data.