Charlie Javice, founder of startup Frank, was sentenced on Monday after being convicted of charges related to deceiving JPMorgan Chase into a $175 million acquisition, the Department of Justice announced.
Why it matters: The 33-year-old who featured in Forbes' "30 under 30" list six years ago must now serve 85 months in prison for "falsely and dramatically inflating the number of customers" of her company to "fraudulently induce JP Morgan Chase" to acquire Frank for $175 million, per a DOJ post Monday.
State of play: JPMorgan Chase sued Frank in March 2023, saying Javice had lied about the company's size.
- Federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed criminal and civil fraud charges against her a month later.
- In March this year, Javice and Frank's chief growth officer, Olivier Amar, were found guilty of conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and securities fraud after a six-week jury trial in New York City.
What they're saying: "Javice perpetrated a $175 million fraud — repeatedly lying about the success of her startup company and even hiring a data scientist to create fake data to back up her lies," said U.S. attorney Amanda Houle in a statement.
- Monday's sentence in Manhattan federal court which also included a forfeiture judgment and $287.5 million in restitution totaling about $309.9 million, "sends a clear message that brazen frauds will be met with serious penalties," Houle added.
- Javice said at her sentencing hearing that "not a day passes that I do not feel profound remorse," per Reuters.
Flashback: Frank founder Charlie Javice hit with charges by SEC, feds
