Crime
JPMorgan Chase Forced to Foot $115 Million Legal Bill For Pair Who Allegedly Swindled Bank Company
Banking behemoth JPMorgan Chase is being forced to foot the phenomenal $115 million legal bill for Charlie Javice — and her co-conspirator Olivier Amar — after the pair were convicted of orchestrating a $175 million swindle against the business, sources say.
Javice and Amar were found guilty in March of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and securities fraud, per New York Post.
Javice, founder of Frank, was accused of inflating the start-up’s user numbers to “fraudulently induce” JPMorgan to purchase it in 2021 for the massive amount of moolah — and was recently ordered to serve 85 months in the slammer for the crime, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Lawmen say Javice claimed Frank — which she launched in 2017 to help simplify the process of filling out applications for federal financial aid for college and graduate school — had 4.25 million customers, when it had approximately 300,000.
Investigators also say when JPMorgan sought to verify Frank’s customer count and acquired info, Javice and Amar, Frank’s soon-to-be sentenced chief growth officer, fabricated a data set to artificially boost its user numbers.
After the deal was completed, JPMorgan uncovered the alleged deception — but is contractually on the hook for Javice and Amar’s defense costs as specified in the Frank merger agreement.
Javice reportedly received more than $21 million for selling her personal stake in Frank, prosecutors say. But in addition to being hit with prison time, she’s also required to forfeit more than $22 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah F. Fergenson says of JPMorgan’s purchase, “They acquired a crime scene,” per Associated Press.
At her sentencing, Javice tearfully told the court she “made a choice that I will spend my entire life regretting.”
Javice and Amar are expected to appeal their convictions — and her attorneys say they anticipate JPMorgan will continue picking up their tab.
