Charlie Javice, founder of the student financial services startup Frank, was convicted Friday inManhattanfederal court of orchestrating a massive fraud against JPMorgan Chase in connection with the bank’s $175 million acquisition of her company in 2021. Israeli executive Olivier Amar, Frank’s former chief growth officer, was also found guilty.
According to the New York Post, the jury reached a verdict after a six-week trial and just six hours of deliberation. Javice, 32, was convicted on multiple counts, including bank fraud, after prosecutors proved she had falsified data to vastly inflate the company’s user base.
While Javice claimed the platform served more than 4.25 million users, evidence showed the actual number was closer to 300,000. The indictment stated that this deception was crucial in securing JPMorgan’s acquisition of the company. Javice appeared stunned as the verdict was read, sitting in silence. Amar, also convicted, looked down and shook his head.
A sentencing date has not yet been set. Although Javice faces up to 30 years in prison for the most serious charge, legal experts believe she will likely receive a significantly shorter sentence.
The conviction marks a dramatic fall for Javice, once considered a rising star in fintech. She founded Frank in 2016 to streamline the college financial aid process, particularly federal aid applications (FAFSA). The company marketed itself as a tool to simplify applications and increase accessibility for students.
Javice’s innovative approach landed her on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in 2019. Frank’s student-friendly tools and aggressive growth strategy quickly drew national attention — eventually catching the interest of JPMorgan, the largest lender in the U.S.
The relationship began to unravel in late 2022 when the bank sued Javice, accusing her of grossly misrepresenting the company’s user data. The lawsuit alleged that she and Amar hired a data science firm to create a fake list of users to support their inflated claims during JPMorgan’s due diligence process.