Frank founder Charlie Javice sobs as shes sentenced to 7 years in prison for JPMorgan fraud | Latest Tech News
Charlie Javice, the disgraced founder of college-finance startup Frank, was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for swindling JPMorgan Chase in a $175 million acquisition.
The onetime fintech star, 33, broke down in tears as she begged for forgiveness before US District Judge Alvin Ok. Hellerstein in Manhattan federal court.
“I feel nervous, to plead before God and before you, Your Honor,” she said, her voice shaking.
“At 28 I did something that goes against my grain. I let down those who trusted me. These errors, this complete collapse of character, is its own sentence.”
Charlie Javice (left) is seen coming into Manhattan federal court for her sentencing on Monday. AP
She apologized immediately to JPMorgan shareholders, former Frank staff and traders, and the scholars who once relied on her startup.
“I still believe I am a good person. My parents taught me that charity is justice. Frank was the culmination.”
Hellerstein said Javice’s phrases in court had been “very moving” and famous that her “record of good deeds is compelling.”
“My job is to sentence people not because they are bad, but because they have done something bad,” the decide said.
“You are a good person who has done bad things. I have to punish you. Markets require honesty. It’s Biblical. Yours was not an honest measure.”
Javice sobbed as she expressed regret and requested for forgiveness before a federal decide handed down her sentence on Monday. Getty Images
Hellerstein added that while prosecutors’ request for 12 years was “too high,” the protection’s push for leniency was “too low.” He then sentenced Javice to 85 months in custody.
Javice was convicted in March on costs of bank fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy after a jury discovered she inflated Frank’s buyer base by thousands and thousands of pretend accounts forward of its 2021 acquisition.
Prosecutors said Javice and a co-defendant, Olivier Amar, fabricated data exhibiting more than 4 million scholar customers when the platform really had only about 300,000.
JPMorgan shuttered Frank just over a yr after shopping for it, and the case grew to become one of the most carefully watched white-collar trials since Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
Federal prosecutors had pushed for a 12-year prison time period, calling Javice’s actions “audacious” and pushed by greed. They also sought restitution and financial penalties to cowl JPMorgan’s losses and legal prices.
The onetime fintech star, 34, said she was devastated that Frank had turn out to be “infamous.” AP
Ahead of sentencing, Javice pleaded for mercy in a letter to Hellerstein, writing that “there are no excuses, only regret — I am truly sorry.”
She cited her household background, including her grandmother’s survival of the Holocaust, and argued for a probability to rebuild her life and start a household.
Her attorneys told the court that JPMorgan’s $175 million loss was “negligible” in contrast with the bank’s $4 trillion in belongings and that a long sentence would serve no goal.
They requested the decide to weigh her prior charitable work and potential for rehabilitation.
Prosecutors dismissed those arguments, noting Javice expressed regret only at the last minute.
“If it were in my power I would never make the same mistake again, not for recognition or money,” she said. Getty Images
“Her self-serving assertions ring hollow when measured against her conduct,” they wrote in their sentencing memo.
The case has been in contrast to the downfall of Holmes and Theranos because of its high-profile nature and the scrutiny it drew to startup tradition and investor due diligence.
Her co-defendant Amar, Frank’s former chief growth officer, is also awaiting sentencing in a separate case.
JPMorgan Chase declined to remark.
The Post has sought remark from Javice’s attorneys.
Javice, the founder of faculty financial-aid startup Frank, was sentenced Monday in Manhattan federal court for orchestrating a huge fraud that duped JPMorgan Chase into paying $175 million for her company. Christopher Sadowski
Javice’s feedback had been first reported by unbiased journalist Matthew Russell Lee in his Inner City Press e-newsletter, which covers Manhattan federal instances.
She admitted she was devastated that Frank had turn out to be “infamous,” confessing she was “no longer a source of pride for my family” and haunted by the injury her deception precipitated.
At one level she sobbed as she recalled watching her father during her trial: “I saw the fear in my father’s eyes at trial…I know you would trade places with me.”
Javice also addressed her mom, calling her “my North star,” and pleaded with the court to show leniency.
“Brokenness is the end and grace is within reach,” she said. “I ask your Honor to temper justice with mercy. Whatever sentence is imposed I will accept with dignity.”
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