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| Charlie Javice outside federal court in Manhattan. Mike Segar/Reuters |
Federal prosecutors say Charlie Javice — once hailed as a rising fintech star — should serve 12 years in prison for orchestrating a massive fraud against JPMorgan Chase. They described her scheme as “audacious” and dismissed her last-minute apology as hollow.
The Fraud That Fooled America’s Biggest Bank
Javice, founder of the student financial aid startup Frank, was convicted in March of defrauding JPMorgan Chase in a deal that cost the bank $175 million.
Prosecutors said Javice fabricated spreadsheets and data to convince JPMorgan that Frank had information on over 4 million students. In truth, the platform had details for only about 300,000 students — a fraction of what she claimed.
That deception undercut JPMorgan’s plans to use Frank as a gateway to market checking accounts, credit cards, and other financial products to millions of young people at the very beginning of their financial lives.
Prosecutors Call Her Conduct “Sustained Deception”
In a letter to Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, prosecutors wrote that Javice’s fraud was not a one-time lapse but a deliberate, long-running scheme designed to mislead.
“Only on the eve of her sentencing does Javice now claim that she accepts responsibility,” they said. “Her self-serving assertions ring hollow when measured against her conduct.”
They are pushing for a 12-year prison term — a sentence they say reflects both the scale of the deception and the need for deterrence in the fintech sector.
The Defense: A Different Side of Javice
Javice’s legal team, however, is asking for no prison time. In a 300-page submission, her lawyers argued that she is more than her mistakes, citing her history of volunteering, her Holocaust-survivor grandmother’s influence, and letters from friends and family describing her as compassionate and driven to help others.
At 34, Javice also revealed she has struggled with fertility and expressed her deep desire to start a family.
“There are no excuses, only regret — I am truly sorry,” Javice wrote in a personal letter to the court.
What Comes Next
Judge Hellerstein has scheduled Javice’s sentencing for September 29 in Manhattan federal court.
The case has become a high-profile example of how inflated metrics and fabricated growth stories — long tolerated in Silicon Valley and the fintech world — can lead to real-world legal consequences when billions of dollars and America’s largest banks are involved.
If prosecutors get their way, Javice’s punishment will serve as one of the harshest reminders yet that Wall Street and Washington are ready to hold startup founders accountable when their ambition crosses into fraud.
