How does a 29-year-old with big blue eyes and a killer pitch deck walk into one of the biggest banks in the world and walk out with $175 million? Pretty easily, it turns out.
Charlie Javice was a millennial wunderkind, Forbes 30 Under 30 darling, and the founder of FRANK - a student finance start-up helping underprivileged kids get into college (and apparently making millions doing it). After just one meeting with Charlie, JPMorgan Chase wanted in, and they offered her $175 million to buy FRANK. One tiny problem though - Charlie Javice was way better at optics and PR than she was at actually running a business… but she wasn’t going to let that be a reason to turn down $175 mil.
What Charlie did next involved a bunch of fake emails and crossing her fingers that JPMorgan Chase wouldn’t bother to check (hint: the dudn't). This is Just The Gist (MINI!) of Charlie Javice, FRANK, a major bank ignoring basic due diligence and the court battle that has already cost more in legal fees than the whole deal did to begin with.
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Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Producer and Host: Rosie Waterland | Senior Producer and Editor: James Joseph | Producer: Kate Leaver | Additional production support: Hayley Staveley | Acast Legends: Guy Scott-Wilson and Simon McDermott | Production Assistant: Pocket
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How Charlie Javice Went From Forbes 30 Under 30 to Federal Fraud Charges (Business Insider, 2023)
Charlie Javice Sentenced to 7 Years for JPMorgan Frank Fraud (Fortune, 2025)
The Charlie Javice Verdict: A Wake-Up Call for Fintechs and Banking (Forbes, 2025)
JPMorgan Is Paying Charlie Javice’s Enormous Legal Bills (The New York Times, 2025)
Charlie Javice and the Rise and Fall of FRANK (Mary Betsy / Guzzle Blog, 2024)
Charlie Javice: Fake It ’Til You Make It (Apple Podcasts, 2025)
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