Startup founder Charlie Javice convicted of massive fraud in $175M JPMorgan deal

Frank founder faces decades in prison after jury finds her guilty of defrauding JPMorgan

Charlie Javice, the founder of financial aid startup Frank, was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury of defrauding JPMorgan Chase by fabricating customer numbers in connection with the bank's $175 million acquisition of her company. The five-week trial concluded with guilty verdicts on all four counts, including conspiracy, bank fraud, and wire fraud, which each carry potential prison sentences of up to 30 years.

Javice, 32, stood trial alongside Olivier Amar, Frank’s former chief growth and acquisition officer. Prosecutors said the pair knowingly deceived JPMorgan by presenting a grossly inflated number of users — a figure that played a crucial role in convincing the bank to go forward with the purchase in 2021. Although Javice had claimed the company had over 4 million users and would soon reach 10 million, internal investigation revealed the actual user base was closer to 300,000. A list of customer data provided to the bank was described during the trial as largely fabricated.

The case has drawn comparisons to that of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, as Javice was once celebrated as a rising figure in the tech sector. She had been featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and regularly appeared on television to promote her platform, which claimed to simplify the process of completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for students.

Testimony reveals creation of fake user data

During the trial, key testimony came from Patrick Vovor, Frank’s lead software engineer, who told jurors that Javice had instructed him to generate synthetic data to support her user claims. According to Vovor, when he questioned the legality of the request, Javice and Amar allegedly responded that they didn’t want to end up in “orange prison jumpsuits.” Vovor refused to comply, later telling the court, “I told them I would not do anything illegal.”

When Vovor declined, prosecutors said Javice turned to a college acquaintance, paying him $18,000 to create millions of fake names with detailed personal data. This fabricated list was then submitted to a third-party data provider working with JPMorgan, which failed to verify the authenticity of the entries.

Defense argues JPMorgan had full knowledge

Throughout the trial, Javice’s legal team, led by attorney Jose Baez, insisted that JPMorgan was fully aware of what it was buying and suggested that the bank had launched the fraud allegations as a form of "buyer’s remorse" after realizing regulatory changes would limit the usefulness of the acquired data. “JPMorgan is not telling the truth. They knew the numbers,” Baez told the jury.

Defense attorneys have asked the court to set aside the jury’s verdict, arguing the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein stated he would hear those arguments in the following week. The court is also set to decide whether Javice and Amar must wear ankle monitors while awaiting sentencing, scheduled for July 23. Javice’s team claims the device would interfere with her current job, teaching Pilates classes multiple hours per day.

A rise and fall in the startup world

Javice founded Frank shortly after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, citing her own struggles with the financial aid system as the motivation behind her venture. The startup promoted itself as a student-first platform, offering to streamline and optimize the FAFSA process for a modest fee. Backed by prominent investors, including venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg, Frank was positioned as a tech-driven solution for financially vulnerable students seeking faster access to aid.

The apparent scale of Frank’s user base was a major selling point for JPMorgan, which envisioned long-term value in converting these students into future bank clients. But following the acquisition, the bank conducted a review that uncovered major discrepancies between the promised and actual customer data.

“While Javice and Amar may have thought that they could lie and cheat their way to a huge payday, their lies caught up with them, and they now stand convicted by a jury of their peers,” said Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky following the verdict.

Awaiting final judgment

Since her arrest in 2023, Javice has been free on $2 million bail and living in Florida. With sentencing set for summer, both she and Amar now face the very real possibility of long-term incarceration. Their convictions mark another dramatic chapter in the scrutiny surrounding high-profile startup founders whose promises outpaced reality.

As the court reconvenes to hear post-trial motions and finalize conditions of release, the case continues to serve as a warning to both tech entrepreneurs and major investors about the consequences of misleading conduct in high-stakes acquisitions.