US businesswoman Charlie Javice (L), founder of Frank, arrives for her sentencing hearing at federal court in Manhattan on Sept. 29, 2025, in New York City.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
Charlie Javice, founder of a startup acquired by JPMorgan Chase in 2021 for $175 million, was sentenced to more than 7 years in prison Monday for defrauding the bank by overstating how many customers the fintech firm had, Reuters reported.
In March, a 12-person jury found Javice and her chief growth officer Olivier Amar guilty on three counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.
Javice, 33, cried as she delivered an emotional statement to the court. Standing to address the judge, Javice said she felt profound remorse for her actions and asked for forgiveness from JPMorgan, employees of the startup, shareholders and investors. At one point Javice turned and directly addressed her family, sitting in the front row, to apologize and thank them for what she called unwavering support.
“I will spend my entire life regretting these errors,” Javice said.
“I’m asking with all of my heart for forgiveness,” she said. “I ask your Honor to temper justice with mercy … I will accept your judgement with dignity and humility.”
JPMorgan bought the startup, called Frank, to help the biggest U.S. bank by assets market its financial products to students. Frank was a digital platform that helped students apply for financial aid. In September 2021, JPMorgan told CNBC in an exclusive interview on the deal that the fintech firm had served more than 5 million students since Javice founded it.
But months after the deal closed, JPMorgan discovered that Frank had fewer than 300,000 real customers; the rest were synthetic identities created by Javice with the help of a data scientist.
Javice was arrested in 2023 on charges that she defrauded JPMorgan in the deal. Details that emerged later showed that Frank employees expressed disbelief when Javice directed them to boost their customer roster before the acquisition.
The week before selling her company to JPMorgan, Javice directed an employee to fabricate millions of users. When the employee declined, Javice reassured him, according to testimony given earlier this year.
“She said: ‘Don’t worry. I don’t want to end up in an orange jumpsuit,'” the employee testified.
Javice’s attorney, Ronald Sullivan, while arguing for a lighter sentence for his client, argued that Frank helped people. He contrasted the case against that of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos infamy, whose fraud he said had “dangerous medical consequences” and who was sentenced to 135 months in prison.
“Ms. Javice’s sentence should be nowhere near Elizabeth Holmes’,” Sullivan told the judge Monday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Fergenson disagreed, arguing Javice’s crime was fueled by greed.
“JPMorgan didn’t get a functioning business, they acquired a crime scene,” Fergenson said.
The episode was embarrassing for JPMorgan, which was thought to be one of the most sophisticated of corporate acquirers. Concerned about threats from fintech and big tech firms, the bank, led by CEO Jamie Dimon, went on a shopping spree of smaller fintech firms starting in 2020.
But JPMorgan, eager to edge out rivals bidding for the startup, failed to confirm that Frank actually had millions of customers before shelling out $175 million for the company.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
