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On Friday, March 28, 2025, Charlie Javice was convicted of defrauding JPMorgan Chase of $175 million by exaggerating the customer base of her financial aid startup, Frank. A New York jury gave its verdict after a five-week trial, and she could be sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence.
Charlie Javice, 32, founded Frank in 2016. It was an organization that worked to make it easier for aspiring students to file for financial aid through the government's Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Before Frank, she had also founded PoverUp as a freshman at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. It was an online platform designed to educate students about starting micro-finance clubs.
In 2023, JPMorgan Chase accused her of securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. The bank alleged that Javice had falsified Frank's customer base, which convinced JPMorgan Chase to acquire it for $175 million.
As per a report by NBC News, prosecutors claimed that Javice had hired an external party to inflate Frank's customer base to 4.25 million users. However, the company allegedly had only 300,000 verifiable accounts.
In 2021, JP Morgan Chase acquired Frank, intending to expand its user base among college students. However, the deal unraveled as soon as the bank started verifying the data provided by Charlie Javice. The bank also charged Frank's Chief Growth Officer, Olivier Amar. However, his legal team placed all the blame on Javice.
Charlie Javice now faces up to 30 years in prison for conspiracy, bank fraud, and wire fraud. On the other hand, securities fraud carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, as per NBC.
Exploring the professional and personal life of Charlie Javice
Born on March 14, 1993, Charlie Javice was raised in Westchester County, New York. Her father was a hedge fund worker, and her mother was a former teacher and life coach.
After completing her school education at the French-American School of New York, Javice enrolled in the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and graduated with a three-year degree in finance and legal studies. As a sophomore at Wharton, she founded PoverUp and also became a member of the Board of Overseers for the University of Pennsylvania Hillel organization.
Three years after graduating, Charlie Javice founded Frank to assist students in securing loans and financial aid. She sold the company to JP Morgan Chase in September 2021. She was also appointed as a managing director at the company, tasked with overseeing products catering to students in the company.
However, the 32-year-old was suspended in September 2022 after an employer filed a lawsuit against her. Two months later, she was fired for cause. In the same month, Charlie Javis was named one of Forbes' 30 Under 30. However, the publication regretted its decision a year later and made her a part of their Hall of Shame.
Charlie Javis has also been named in Crain's New York Business 40 Under 40 and has stood 99th in the list of the Most Creative People by Fast Company.
When Charlie Javice opened up about Frank's mission, claiming it stood for "respect, dignity, and honesty"
Charlie Javice spoke about the motivation behind starting Frank and its mission in a 2020 interview with AOL. According to the 32-year-old, Frank was meant to "make college more affordable" and simplify the process of FAFSA so that it could be completed in "under four minutes."
"Everything that deals with student debt is very corrupt … it’s not honest. We wanted something that stood for respect, dignity and honesty and Frank meant honest as well, and it’s super easy to remember…it just seemed to be a good name that was approachable, friendly, simple and honest,” she continued.
Speaking about her own experience with the FAFSA and how it inspired her to come up with Frank, she continued:
“I spent a lot of time on the banking side trying to figure out how to lend money in a more responsible way, and have banks give a sh*t. it always came back to the one thing which was here was no ally for students."
After claiming that "banks wouldn’t be the allies of students, the universities wouldn’t be the allies of students, and the government was subsidizing the whole space," Javice explained that she had tried to create a "good actor" that helped the families trying to obtain a student loan.
Javice emphasized the importance of hiring a diverse team from the very early days of a company. She claimed that Frank's first hires came from different socioeconomic backgrounds and also had the professional know-how to be integral to the team.
"I think its reflected in our team from the standpoint … i think thats super important as you build something, to build something thats representative of the product you’re selling,” she added.
In the end, Charlie Javice was asked about the future of Frank. She explained that the company aspired to be the "market leader with financial aid and getting to 10 percent of the population." The company was hopeful of amassing a user base between 2.5 to 5 million by the end of the year.
Following the recent guilty verdict, Javice now faces up to a maximum of 30 years imprisonment.
