The young CEO reportedly coined most of the company’s user base.
The CEO of a tech start-up once considered a prominent US entrepreneur has been arrested and charged with allegedly lying to JPMorgan Chase, the Justice Department said Tuesday.
Charlie Javis, previously featured as a Forbes Magazine “30 Under 30” honoree, was arrested Monday night in New Jersey after his company scammed customers with its student loan assistance program, according to the DOJ. Lied about the number.
“He lied directly to JPMC and fabricated data to support those lies – all to make over $45 million off his company’s sales,” US Attorney Damien Williams said in a statement. “This arrest should serve as a warning to entrepreneurs who lie to propel their businesses that their lies will get them caught, and this office will hold them accountable for putting their greed above the law.”
A spokeswoman for Javis said she denies the allegations and her attorney declined to comment.
Miami Beach, Fla. Charlie Javis of New York leaves Manhattan federal court on April 4, 2023, after signing $2 million bond to remain free on charges that he defrauded JPMorgan Chase with falsified records to acquire Frank Was. Student loan assistance startup company for $175 million. Prosecutors say he claimed his company had more than 4 million customers when he actually had fewer than 300,000.
Lawrence Neumeister / AP
The company, Frank, was billed as a way to ease the student loan application process. Jayvice has been accused of fabricating data to make it appear that the platform had millions more users in order to sell the company for $175 million.
He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and one count of bank fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. She also faces one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
According to charging documents, Jevice enlisted the help of a data scientist to create a fake database that was used to convince JPMorgan Chase to have more than 4.25 million users on the platform. The tech CEO allegedly bought real data on 4.25 million college students that it tried to pass off as its own user data.
Javis made an initial court appearance on Tuesday, and was released on $2 million bond, which confines him to New York and parts of southern Florida.
ABC News’ Luke Barr and Lisa Sivertson contributed to this report.
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