Charlie Javice
Founder of the student-aid startup Frank
- Entries
- 10
- On the record
- 6
- Stories
- 2
- Latest entry
- Sep 29, 2025
The record
Charlie Javice graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 2013, founded the student financial aid startup Frank and was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 finance list in 2019, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. JPMorgan Chase bought Frank for $175 million in September 2021. Late in 2022 the bank sued her in federal court, alleging she had paid a data science professor to create millions of fake customer accounts to inflate the price.
Her lawyer, Alex Spiro, called the suit retaliatory and misleading and said the bank had received all the data before the purchase. He said JPMorgan had manufactured reasons to fire her to avoid paying her millions, and that she blew the whistle and then sued the bank over legal bills from its internal investigations. JPMorgan shut down Frank's website in January 2023.
In April 2023 the SEC filed a civil fraud complaint saying she claimed Frank served 4.25 million students when it had fewer than 300,000 users, and that she received $9.7 million directly from her stock, more through trusts, and a $20 million retention bonus contract. The SEC sought an officer-and-director bar, disgorgement and penalties. Prosecutors in Manhattan announced a parallel criminal investigation the same day, the case that led to her 2025 conviction and sentence.
Roles and honours on the record
- 2013 Graduate, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania source
- 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30, finance list source
- until 2021 Founder of Frank, sold to JPMorgan Chase Bank for $175 million in 2021 source
- 2023- Defendant, SEC civil fraud action, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York source
Every entry, newest first
- Ruled
Sentenced to 85 months; forfeiture of $22,360,977.48; restitution of $287,501,078 jointly with Amar. Charlie Javice gets 85 months; JPMorgan paid $175M for Frank
- Ruled
A federal jury found Javice guilty of three counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. Biggest celebrity frauds ranked: Ebbers's $11B WorldCom first
- Ruled
Jury in Manhattan federal court convicted Javice on all four counts. Charlie Javice gets 85 months; JPMorgan paid $175M for Frank
- Filed
Charged by federal prosecutors with conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and securities fraud; SEC filed a civil fraud complaint. Charlie Javice gets 85 months; JPMorgan paid $175M for Frank
Stories in this file
Money ยท ๐ Charlie Javice gets 85 months; JPMorgan paid $175M for Frank
She owes $287.5M in restitution. Javice says she accepts the verdict, but the judge said she never admitted a crime. ๐ฃ๏ธ
Business ยท ๐ผ Biggest celebrity frauds ranked: Ebbers's $11B WorldCom first
Nine cases rest on court outcomes, one on a guilty plea. Several defendants appealed, and Kenneth Lay died before sentencing. โณ
The record, entry by entry
- 2013 Reported She graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. Daily Pennsylvanian report
- 2019 Reported Forbes named her to its 30 Under 30 finance list, the Daily Pennsylvanian reported. Daily Pennsylvanian report
- 2021-09 Reported JPMorgan Chase acquired Frank for $175 million, CNBC reported. CNBC report
- 2022-12 Filed JPMorgan sued her, alleging she paid a data science professor $18,000 to create a list of about 4.265 million fake Frank customer accounts. Her lawyer Alex Spiro said the bank knew its filing was retaliatory and misleading and had received all the data before the purchase. CBS News report
- 2023-01-12 Reported JPMorgan shut down Frank's website. CNBC reported that Javice had sued the bank to cover legal bills from its internal investigations, and Spiro said JPMorgan manufactured reasons to fire her late in 2022 to avoid paying her millions. CNBC report
- 2023-04-04 Filed The SEC charged her with fraud in the Southern District of New York, alleging she asked Frank's director of engineering to generate synthetic data and, when he refused, paid a data science professor to create it. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced a parallel criminal investigation the same day. SEC press release 2023-74
Documents
Sources behind this file
- Justice Department press release on the sentence
- New York Times report on the sentencing
- Business Insider report on the sentencing
- AP News report on the verdict
- New York Times report on the verdict and trial testimony
- Reuters report on the indictment
- CBS News report on JPMorgan's lawsuit and Javice's lawyer's response