Frank | FinTelegram News

Tag: Frank

April 12, 2025

From Unicorns to Orange Jumpsuits: Charlie Javice’s Conviction Exposes Startup Fraud Epidemic

The U.S. national Charlie Javice, founder of college financial aid startup Frank, was convicted on March 28, 2025, on four felony counts: securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. The Manhattan federal jury found that Javice deceived JPMorgan Chase into acquiring Frank in 2021 by inflating its user base from 300,000 to 4.25 million, fabricating customer lists, and directing staff to falsify data.

February 26, 2025

The Frank Fraud Fiasco: Another FinTech Startup Darling Faces the Music!

Charlie Javice, the once-celebrated wunderkind behind the FinTech startup Frank, now finds herself in the dock, accused of orchestrating a “massive fraud” that duped JPMorgan Chase & Co. into a $175 million takeover bid in 2021. The trial, unfolding in a Manhattan federal courtroom as of February 2025, paints a picture of a Silicon Valley fairy tale gone sour.

August 9, 2024

Comparative Analysis: The Divergent Approaches of JPMorgan and ING to Failed FinTech Acquisitions!

JPMorgan Chase, a financial powerhouse in the U.S., and ING Group, a dominant banking institution in the Netherlands, have both ventured into the acquisition of FinTech companies to expand their digital capabilities. However, these acquisitions' strategies and subsequent management have diverged significantly, reflecting differences in corporate governance, regulatory environments, and responses to crises. Here is our comparative analysis.

FinTelegram

February 15, 2024

Trial Set for FinTech Wunderkind: Charlie Javice to Face JPMorgan in Court Over Alleged $175 Million Fraud Scheme

Charlie Javice, the U.S. fintech entrepreneur embroiled in a high-profile legal battle with JPMorgan over the acquisition of her college financial aid startup Frank, is set to face trial in October 2024. Amidst accusations of defrauding the banking giant out of $175 million, Javice has maintained her innocence, pleading not guilty and securing her release on a $2 million bond earlier this April. Allegedly, prosecutors are basing the charges solely on incomplete records from JPMorgan.

February 15, 2024

The Next Acquisition Turns Sour For JPMorgan: Viva Wallet!

In a legal battle that has captured the attention of the fintech sector, JPMorgan Chase & Co. finds itself embroiled in a contentious dispute with Viva Wallet, a Greek-based cross-border payments platform. The U.S. banking giant acquired a 48.5% stake in Viva Wallet last year and now faces allegations from the fintech's founder and CEO, Haris Karonis. The heart of the conflict? Accusations of strategic suppression and aggressive legal maneuvers.

May 23, 2023

Frank Founder Charlie Javice Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud Charges

Charlie Javice, the founder of Frank, a college financial planning startup, pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges in Manhattan. She is accused of inflating the value of her startup, which was later sold to JPMorgan Chase for $175 million. Prosecutors allege that Javice misrepresented the number of users on the platform, claiming millions when the actual count was less than 300,000.

May 9, 2023

U.S. Court Ordered JPMorgan To Pay Legal Fees Of Frank Founder Charlie Javice!

A wild startup story, indeed. Charlie Javice sold her startup Frank for $175 million. Allegedly, however, the number of users would have been inflated by more than 10-fold, JPMorgan claims in a lawsuit - and fired Javice. The U.S. DOJ has also charged Javice with the alleged $175 million fraud. A judge has ordered JPMorgan to bear the defense costs of Javice in response to the bank's lawsuit as part of her agreement to sell Frank to the bank in 2021.

Court Cases

April 14, 2023

Missing Millions: JPMorgan Wants To Question Frank Founder About Transfers Of Millions Of Dollars.

JPMorgan said Frank founder Charlie Javice transferred millions of dollars to a shell company after the bank discovered it had been defrauded in acquiring her college financial planning site. The U.S. bank is suing Javice for fraud and asked a judge for permission to question her under oath and seek evidence about the transfers to Chariot Holdings X LLC, a Nevada company she set up in September 2022. Javice is also sued by the SEC and charged by U.S. prosecutors.

April 5, 2023

Payvision And Frank: The Two Big FinTech Takeover Disasters And The Different Consequences.

Recently, Charlie Javice was arrested in New York and charged with fraud. She is the founder and former CEO of fintech Frank, which JP Morgan bought for $175 million. She allegedly misled JP Morgan about the true state of the company. In 2018, ING acquired Payvision, founded by Rudolf Booker, at a valuation of €360 million. ING expected Payvision to be a different company. The fintech made most of its revenue from merchants in the porn and gambling sectors - and with scammers.

April 4, 2023

Goodbye life: Frank Founder Charlie Javice Arrested And Charged With Fraud!

In 2021, the U.S. banking giant JP Morgan paid $175 million for Frank, a student loan assistance fintech startup founded by former CEO Charlie Javice in 2016 (report here). JP Morgen launched a lawsuit against its founder Javice, alleging she had created 4.25 million users to inflate the value of the business. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Javice with fraud. She fooled the wrong people and was was arrested last night.

The Unraveling of Rabidi and the Rise of the SoftSwiss Network: Our Updated Forensic Report

A few months ago, FinTelegram released a first forensic report on the bankruptcy of Rabidi N.V., a Curacao-registered online casino operator with hundreds of millions in revenues — and no traceable assets by the time of its collapse in May 2024. That report already raised serious questions about the opaque structures behind Rabidi’s operations and its successor, Liernin Enterprises Ltd.

DeFi Decoded: Smart Contracts – The Code Behind the DeFi Revolution

Smart contracts are the invisible architects of decentralized finance. These self-executing lines of code run everything from token swaps to lending platforms without middlemen. But while they offer autonomy, they also introduce new risks—bugs, exploits, and irreversible mistakes. In this fourth installment of our FinTelegram DeFi Series, we explain what smart contracts are.

CFTC

Despite New Crypto Friendlyness: No Settlement Between U.S. CFTC And KuCoin?

A planned settlement between the U.S.CFTC and crypto exchange KuCoin is now in limbo due to a reported policy shift within the CFTC. This change is attributed to the Trump administration’s new approach, which deprioritizes enforcement actions against crypto companies. As a result, a CFTC attorney said that it is "unlikely that such authorization will be granted in the near term" regarding the settlement approval.

SEC’s New Era: Paul Atkins Sworn In—Will Crypto Finally Get the Regulatory Clarity It Deserves?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has entered a new chapter with the swearing-in of Paul S. Atkins as its 34th Chairman, a move widely anticipated to mark a dramatic pivot in how the agency approaches crypto and DeFi regulation. For years, the financial industry—especially the burgeoning digital asset sector—has bristled under the SEC’s “Regulation by Enforcement” strategy.

Crypto Mogul Changpeng Zhao – Fallen, Rich, and Rising Again?

As spring 2025 blooms and Easter’s themes of rebirth fill the air, Changpeng Zhao emerges as one of the most controversial figures of startup mythology: a man who fell spectacularly, paid a price—then rose again, wealthier and louder than ever. Once the almighty architect of Binance, CZ now resides in Dubai with a net worth that Forbes estimates at $63 billion.