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How a 31-Year-Old Woman Fooled JP Morgan Out of Millions

Wubit

11 Feb 2025 — 2 min read

Many people dream of becoming successful entrepreneurs. They admire young business leaders who build companies from scratch and achieve massive wealth. But not every success story is real. Some are built on lies, and when the truth comes out, everything falls apart. This is the story of Charlie Javis, a 31-year-old entrepreneur who scammed one of the biggest banks in the world—JP Morgan.

Who Is Charlie Javis?

Charlie Javis grew up in an affluent New York family and attended a prestigious French-American private school. She showed early interest in business and launched her first project, PoverUp, while still in high school. It was a microfinance platform that aimed to provide small loans to underprivileged communities.

Her business skills got her noticed. She was featured in magazines like Inc. and Fast Company and even made it to the prestigious Forbes 30 Under 30 list. With this growing reputation, she moved on to her next big idea—Frank.

The Birth of Frank

Frank was an online platform that aimed to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process. Many students struggle with FAFSA forms, leaving billions of dollars in aid unclaimed each year. Frank promised to solve this issue by offering an easy, five-minute application process.

Investors were impressed. Frank raised more than $20 million and claimed to have over 4 million users. The company seemed like a huge success, and JP Morgan took notice.

How She Scammed JP Morgan

By 2021, Charlie Javis was looking to sell Frank. JP Morgan, eager to expand its student financial services, saw an opportunity and decided to buy the company for $175 million.

There was just one problem—Frank didn’t have 4 million users. In reality, there were fewer than 300,000. But instead of revealing the truth, Javis chose to fake the numbers. She hired a data expert to create millions of fake customer accounts using an algorithm. JP Morgan believed the data and went ahead with the purchase.

Javis and her business partner, Olivia Amar, made millions from the deal. Javis received $10 million upfront, with the promise of an additional $20 million as a retention bonus. Amar also received millions. Everything seemed perfect—until JP Morgan started integrating Frank into their system.

How JP Morgan Discovered the Fraud

After the acquisition, JP Morgan sent emails to Frank’s supposed 4 million users. But something was wrong—only a tiny fraction of the emails were delivered, and even fewer were opened.

When JP Morgan investigated further, they discovered the truth. They found email exchanges between Javis and the data expert, proving that the customer list was fake. Furious, JP Morgan immediately suspended Javis and Amar and filed a lawsuit against them.

The Legal Consequences

Javis didn’t back down easily—she even tried to sue JP Morgan, claiming her termination was unfair. However, the court found overwhelming evidence against her. In April 2023, she was found guilty of fraud, facing potential prison time for her crimes.

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon later called the acquisition of Frank a "huge mistake." The bank had been tricked by a well-crafted lie, and the consequences were severe.

Lessons from the Scam

The story of Charlie Javis is a cautionary tale about deception in business. No matter how successful someone appears, their empire can crumble if it’s built on lies. Investors, companies, and individuals must always verify claims before making decisions.

Javis thought she could cheat the system and walk away with millions. But in the end, the truth caught up with her, proving that dishonesty never leads to lasting success.