The high-profile fraud trial involving Charlie Javice has been filled with embarrassing missteps. Details have emerged about how JPMorgan Chase was allegedly deceived into purchasing her startup, Frank, for $175 million with only 300,000 customers instead of the claimed four million.
During the trial, former Frank engineer Patrick Vovor testified about a crucial moment when Javice supposedly asked him to create fake user data just before the sale. When Vovor refused, Javice allegedly sought help from a math professor to generate synthetic user data, which was then presented to JPMorgan. (Javice’s legal team tried to portray Vovor as a disgruntled former romantic partner.)
Apart from JPMorgan’s oversight in verifying Frank’s user base, other uncomfortable revelations have come to light. For example, Leslie Wims Morris, who managed the deal at JPMorgan, reportedly highlighted portions of CEO Jamie Dimon’s 2021 investor letter in a note to her team, joking that sometimes “there’s no need to do analysis at all.”
Javice’s legal team argued in court that this indicates JPMorgan did not feel the need to double-check their work. However, Morris claimed it was meant as a lighthearted joke for her team.
