Charlie Javice Boyfriend: Startup Founder Charlie Javice Sentenced to Over 7 Years for Defrauding JPMorgan

Charlie Javice, the founder of student finance startup Frank, was sentenced on Monday, September 29, 2025, to more than seven years in prison. A federal judge in Manhattan gave her 85 months behind bars. That equals 7 years and 1 month. The sentence was for defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the sale of her company.

Javice was found guilty of lying about the number of users her startup had. She claimed Frank had over 4.25 million users. In reality, it had fewer than 300,000. This false information led JPMorgan to buy the company for $175 million in 2021.

Judge Alvin Hellerstein gave the sentence. He said Javice was a good person who made a bad decision. “You’ve done a bad thing, and I have to punish you,” the judge said during the hearing.

Before sentencing, Javice spoke in court. She said she was deeply sorry. “I am asking with all my heart for forgiveness,” she said. She added that she would never repeat her mistakes.

Javice was convicted in March 2025. The charges included bank fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy. Prosecutors had asked for a 12-year sentence. But the judge gave her a shorter term after hearing her statement and reviewing her background.

Along with prison time, Javice must pay a large amount of money. She was ordered to forfeit $22.4 million. She also has to pay $287.5 million in restitution to JPMorgan2.

Javice’s co-defendant, Olivier Amar, was also found guilty. He was Frank’s chief growth officer. His sentencing is scheduled for October 20, 2025.

Javice founded Frank in 2017. The company helped students apply for financial aid. It aimed to simplify the FAFSA process. Frank became popular and was featured in media outlets. Javice was even listed in Forbes’ “30 Under 30” in 2019.

JPMorgan bought Frank in September 2021. The bank believed it was gaining access to millions of student users. But after the deal, JPMorgan tried to contact those users. Most of the emails bounced. The bank realized the user data was fake.

Javice had hired a data scientist to create synthetic user data. This was used to trick JPMorgan during the acquisition. The data scientist was paid $18,000 for the job.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon later called the deal a “huge mistake.” The bank also filed a separate lawsuit against Javice.

Javice’s lawyers argued that she was young and made a poor decision. They said JPMorgan rushed the deal and didn’t do proper checks. The judge agreed that the bank was careless. But he said the punishment was for Javice’s actions, not the bank’s mistakes.

Javice remains free on bail while she appeals the conviction. Her legal team now includes top appellate lawyer Alexandra Shapiro. She has represented other high-profile clients.

This case has drawn comparisons to the Theranos scandal. Like Elizabeth Holmes, Javice was once seen as a rising star. Now, she faces years in prison and a damaged reputation.