2013 Wharton graduate Charlie Javice was found guilty on all charges of fraud and conspiracy after JPMorgan Chase’s $175 million acquisition of Javice’s startup, Frank.
The five-week trial — which began in February and concluded on Mar. 28 in Manhattan — investigated Javice and her partner, Olivier Amar, for their involvement in falsifying records that exaggerated Frank's customer base tenfold in order to secure the company’s acquisition. Javice could face up to 30 years in prison following her sentencing on Aug. 26 for federal charges including conspiracy, bank fraud, securities fraud, and wire fraud.
Frank, a financial aid assistance program, was founded by Javice in 2016 with a goal to make higher education more affordable by reducing student debt via financial aid rather than through loans. Frank's software sought to help students bargain for more financial aid through the FAFSA.
Javice’s work on Frank led to a spot Forbes “30 Under 30” list. She was also appointed managing director at JPMorgan, overseeing student-focused products at Chase, after selling Frank to the bank for $175 million in 2021.
JPMorgan filed a lawsuit against Javice in December 2022 — a month after firing her. The bank alleged that Javice lied about the number of customers her startup had, claiming she created over 4 million fake user accounts. According to the lawsuit, Frank had fewer than 300,000 actual users.
Frank’s chief software engineer, Patrick Vovor, testified against Javice during the trial, stating that she had approached him to generate fake data to suggest that the company had over 4 million users. Vovor also testified that Javice and Amar assured him that this was legal.
In response to Vovor’s claim, Javice’s lawyers argued that he was upset because she was not interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with him. Vovor denied this allegation and concluded his testimony by stating that he refused to help Javice falsify records.
Javice’s lawyer, Jose Baez, also claimed that JPMorgan purchased the startup with the full knowledge of the reality of Frank’s customer base. Baez accused the bank of scapegoating Javice in response to the company's poor growth after its acquisition.
During the deliberations, Javice was ordered to wear an ankle monitor until her sentencing in August.
In 2018, Frank settled with the federal government over accusations that the startup was misrepresenting its ties to the Department of Education. Javice told the DP in 2018 that Frank’s lead investor was 1985 Wharton MBA graduate Marc Rowan.
Two years later, in 2020, bipartisan members of Congress wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission claiming that Frank was creating confusion for students by advertising a nonexistent universal application for COVID-19 pandemic-era student relief funds.
Javice countersued JPMorgan in 2023, claiming that 4 million users did go on Frank’s website to read articles about financial aid processes. She did not dispute that less than half a million users used the platform to complete financial aid forms.
At Penn, Javice was a special advisor to Wharton Social Impact programs and a member of the Wharton Entrepreneurial Venture Initiation Program. She was also a member of the Board of Overseers at Penn Hillel.
She shared advice for filling out federal financial aid forms with Wharton Global Youth Program, and spoke about her personal motivations for her startup PoverUp.
She founded PoverUp in 2010, an online platform where "socially minded students learn, connect, and invest in microfinance and social businesses," according to Forbes. Javice was “widely recognized” for her work with PoverUp, and worked with the organization until 2015.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Javice’s charges did not pertain to a lawsuit and was instead a criminal conviction on federal charges.
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