Charlie Javice’s high-profile fraud trial has highlighted several embarrassing mistakes from both parties involved. The trial reveals that JPMorgan Chase was allegedly misled into purchasing Javice’s startup, Frank, for $175 million, believing it had four million customers when in reality, it only had 300,000.
According to a new Wall Street Journal article, a key moment in the trial occurred when former Frank engineer Patrick Vovor testified about refusing Javice’s request to create fake user data a week before the sale. Vovor recalled Javice telling him, “Don’t worry. I don’t want to end up in an orange jumpsuit.” After Vovor declined, it is alleged that Javice enlisted a math professor to produce synthetic user data, which was then presented to JPMorgan. Javice’s legal team, however, portrayed Vovor as a disgruntled former associate.
Additionally, further uncomfortable details have emerged regarding JPMorgan’s oversight in vetting Frank’s user base. It was reported that Leslie Wims Morris, who led the deal for JPMorgan, sent a note to her team that highlighted segments from CEO Jamie Dimon’s 2021 letter to investors. The note included the phrase that sometimes “there’s no need to do analysis at all.” Javice’s legal representatives argued that this suggests JPMorgan believed additional verification was unnecessary. Morris, however, testified that her comment was intended as a joke to her team.
