30/09/2025
Forbes 30 under 30 Entrepreneur Charlie Javice Sentenced to 7 Years for Defra¥ding JPMorgan to the Tune of $175 Million
Charlie Javice, founder of the college financial aid startup Frank, has been sentenced to 85 months in prison for defra¥ding JPMorgan Chase into acquiring her company for $175 million.
The 33-year-old entrepreneur was convicted in March on four counts of fra¥d and conspiracy after fabricating a customer list to make Frank appear to have 4.25 million users, when in reality it had fewer than 300,000.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, delivering the sentence in Manhattan federal court, stressed the need for deterrence in white-collar crimes. “The offense required a great deal of duplicity. Honesty in a market is required,” he said.
Javice’s lawyers had sought an 18-month sentence, while prosecutors pushed for 12 years. The case marks a steep fall for Javice, once celebrated on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2019.
Fighting back tears in court, Javice apologized to JPMorgan shareholders, her family, and Frank’s stakeholders, saying: “At 28, I did something that runs against the grain of my upbringing. Not a day passes that I do not feel profound remorse.”
Despite pleading not guilty, Javice plans to appeal the conviction. Her co-defendant, Olivier Amar, Frank’s former chief growth officer, was also convicted and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 20.
JPMorgan, which bought Frank in 2021, later discovered it could not reach most of the purported customer base. CEO Jamie Dimon has since described the acquisition as a “huge mistake.”
