Charlie Javice
Charlie Javice (born March 14, 1993)[1] is the disgraced founder and former CEO of Frank, a student financial aid application assistance company. In January 2023, she was accused of fraud relating to the sale of her company to JPMorgan Chase for $175 million.[2] Javice was charged on April 4, 2023 in Manhattan federal court with a four-count grand jury indictment for securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy.[3]
Charlie Javice | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 14, 1993 |
| Citizenship | American |
| Education | French-American School of New York |
| Alma mater | Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (2013) |
| Criminal status | Released on bond with conditions |
| Criminal charge | |
Biography edit
Early life and education edit
Javice grew up in Westchester County, New York.[4] She is Jewish.[5] Her father worked at a hedge fund while her mother is a life coach and former teacher.[6] Javice attended the French-American School of New York, a private school that provides education from Nursery to the 12th grade.
In 2013, Javice graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania after three years with a bachelor's degree in finance and legal studies.[7] As a freshman at Wharton, she founded PoverUp, an online platform to help students learn more about starting micro-finance clubs. During her sophomore year, she became a member of the Board of Overseers for the University of Pennsylvania Hillel organization, associated with Hillel International,[8] a Jewish campus organization. She continued in this capacity until 2015.
Career edit
In 2016, Javice founded Frank, which assists student borrowers in obtaining loans and financial aid.
In 2017, the United States Department of Education accused Frank of potentially misleading customers to believe that it was affiliated with the US government, forcing the company to change its website from frankfafsa.com to frank.com. Frank settled with the Department of Education in 2018.[9]
In 2018, Javice was sued by Adi Omesy, a co-founder of Frank, over wage theft in Israel.[10] In 2021, she was ordered to pay $35,000.[4]
In September 2021, she sold the company to JPMorgan Chase for $175 million and was appointed managing director at JPMorgan, overseeing student-focused products at Chase. She was suspended in September 2022 following a lawsuit by her employer, and was terminated for cause in November 2022.[1]
In November 2022 Javice was listed on Forbes 30 Under 30,[11] a pick the publication regretted a year later, placing Javice on its Hall of Shame, featuring ten picks it wished it could take back.[12][13]
Lawsuit and criminal charges edit
In 2022, JPMorgan filed a lawsuit for fraud claiming that the data reported by Frank was largely a fabrication, and alleged that Javice paid a data science professor $18,000 for a list of more than four million fake student names to convince JPMorgan to purchase Frank.[14][15] Javice countersued JPMorgan, claiming that she was being scapegoated for their own faulty due diligence.[16] On April 4, 2023, federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged Javice with wire fraud affecting a financial institution, securities fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy.[17] The same day, she was also charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[18] She was released on a two million dollar bond, on condition that she surrender her passports and restrict her travel to New York City and southern Florida, and agreeing not to contact witnesses who are involved in the case.[19][20] A four-count grand jury indictment made public on May 18, 2023, in Manhattan federal court charged Javice with securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy.[3]
Awards and recognition edit
- 2011: Ranked 99th on list of Most Creative People by Fast Company[21]
- 2019: Named in Forbes 30 Under 30 – Finance[22]
- 2019: Named in Crain's New York Business 40 Under 40[2][23]
- 2023: Named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Hall of Shame[2][24]
Personal life edit
Javice lives in Miami, where she purchased a condominium for $1.4 million.[4]
References edit
- ^ a b Levine, Alexandra S.; Martin, Iain (February 27, 2023). "JP Morgan Is Still Cleaning Up Its 'Disastrous' $175M Frank Acquisition". Forbes. from the original on February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ a b c Lieber, Ron (January 21, 2023). "How Charlie Javice Got JPMorgan to Pay $175 Million for … What Exactly?". The New York Times. from the original on January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
- ^ a b Stempel, Jonathan; Cohen, Luc (May 19, 2023). "Charlie Javice, the startup founder accused of defrauding JPMorgan, is indicted". Reuters. from the original on 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
- ^ a b c Levine, Alexandra S.; Martin, Iain (January 19, 2023). "'Fake It 'Til You Make It': Meet Charlie Javice, The Startup Founder Who Fooled JP Morgan". Forbes. from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ Siegal, Tobias (21 January 2023). "Young entrepreneur accused of conning America's largest bank out of $175m". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
- ^ . Archived from the original on 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Commuri, Meheer (January 16, 2023). "Wharton graduate, startup founder Charlie Javice sued by JP Morgan". The Daily Pennsylvanian. from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ Drake, Diane (2011-07-20). "Generation Microfinance: Charlie Javice Believes in the Power of Students to Alleviate Poverty". Wharton Global Youth Program. from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
- ^ Long, Katherine (January 12, 2023). "Frank start-up founder Charlie Javice, accused of defrauding JPMorgan with fake users, previously settled with Department of Education over allegations she misled students". Business Insider. from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
- ^ Siegal, Tobias (January 23, 2023). "Young entrepreneur accused of conning America's largest bank out of $175m". The Times of Israel. from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ "Forbes 30 Under 30 2022: Finance". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Team, Forbes Under 30. "Hall Of Shame: The 10 Most Dubious People Ever To Make Our 30 Under 30 List". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Porter, Jon (2023-11-29). "Forbes publishes 30 Under 30 "Hall of Shame."". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ Picchi, Aimee (January 13, 2023). "JPMorgan paid $175 million for a hot startup. Now it claims its CEO faked four million clients". CBS News. from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ Son, Hugh (January 12, 2023). "JPMorgan shutters website it paid $175 million for, accuses founder of inventing millions of accounts". CNBC. from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
- ^ Feeley, Jef (February 27, 2023). "JPMorgan Is Scapegoating Her With Its Fraud Suit, Frank Founder Says". Bloomberg News.
- ^ Long, Katherine; Newsham, Jack (April 4, 2023). "Frank founder Charlie Javice, who allegedly defrauded JPMorgan out of $175 million, hit with federal charges". Business Insider. from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ Levine, Alexandra S.; Martin, Iain (April 4, 2023). "SEC And DOJ Charge Frank Founder Charlie Javice With Fraud". Forbes. from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ Neumeister, Larry (April 4, 2023). "Student aid startup founder arrested on fraud charges". Associated Press. from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ Van Voris, Bob; Dolmetsch, Chris (April 4, 2023). "Frank Founder Javice, Who Says JPMorgan Scapegoated Her, Is Charged With Fraud". Bloomberg News. from the original on 2023-04-04. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
- ^ "99. Charlie Javice". Fast Company. from the original on 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
- ^ "Charlie Javice". Forbes. from the original on 2023-01-20. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ^ "40 Under 40 - Charlie Javice". March 19, 2019. from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
- ^ "Forbes publishes 30 Under 30 "Hall of Shame."". November 29, 2023.