Founder Charlie Javice seeks pardon after $175M fraud

Convicted fintech entrepreneur Charlie Javice is seeking a presidential pardon as she serves a prison sentence for defrauding JPMorgan Chase of $175 million, according to reports. Javice and her associates are reportedly soliciting support from individuals with ties to the Trump administration in hopes of securing clemency.

Javice, the founder of the college financial aid startup Frank, was sentenced last year to 85 months, or just over seven years, in prison. A federal jury had convicted her in March on multiple charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and securities fraud. Prosecutors detailed a scheme in which Javice falsely claimed Frank had over 4 million users when the company actually had information for only about 300,000. To deceive JPMorgan during its due diligence ahead of a 2021 acquisition, Javice hired an outside data scientist to create a fabricated dataset to support the inflated user numbers. The bank proceeded with the $175 million purchase, planning to market its financial products to Frank's purported user base, only to discover the fraud after the deal closed.

At her sentencing, Javice expressed remorse, telling the court she was haunted by her...