- Charlie Javice, founder of fintech startup Frank, is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of defrauding JPMorgan Chase to the tune of $175 million. She has been ordered to wear an ankle monitor while awaiting her sentencing, despite launching a Pilates career.
Charlie Javice, the 32-year-old entrepreneur convicted of fraud in her $175 million sale of the fintech startup Frank to JPMorgan Chase, has been ordered to wear a GPS ankle monitor while she awaits sentencing—despite her new Pilates career.
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that the monitoring device was necessary despite Javice’s legal team objecting that she was a flight risk.
Her attorneys argued that the device would interfere with her primary source of income—teaching Pilates in South Florida.
“It would remove the possibility of the one thing she can now do, which is teach her classes,” Javice’s attorney, Ronald Sullivan, said at a hearing on her bail terms.
Prosecutors argued that Javice, who holds both U.S. and French citizenship, posed a legitimate flight risk, particularly because France does not have an extradition agreement with the United States.
Judge Hellerstein, after reviewing arguments and examining photos of Javice teaching Pilates, acknowledged that the monitor could present a challenge but ultimately ruled that the risk of her fleeing was too great to ignore.
With her sentencing scheduled for later this year, Javice is free on a $2 million bond, but the judge required her to be fitted with an ankle monitor before leaving the courthouse on Tuesday.
She must also comply with movement restrictions that limit her to certain areas in New York and Florida.
Fraud charges against Javice
Javice, who appeared on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in 2019, was found guilty of fabricating data to mislead JPMorgan into believing her company, Frank, had a much larger user base than it actually did.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of 30 years, and Javice will be sentenced in the coming weeks.
Javice founded Frank in her mid-20s. The fintech company aimed to simplify the process of filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), a complex government form used by students to apply for financial aid for college or graduate school.
In September 2021, Javice sold the company to JPMorgan in a deal worth $175 million.
Just over a year later, JPMorgan Chase accused Javice and her co-defendant, Olivier Amar, the chief growth officer of Frank, of collaborating with a data scientist to fabricate millions of fake customer accounts in an effort to deceive the bank.
As a result, JPMorgan shut down the Frank website in January 2023, shortly after filing a lawsuit against Javice in Delaware federal court.
Javice and co-defendant Amar are now facing the possibility of decades in prison over the deal.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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