Frank co-founder Charlie Javice called JPMorgan Chase’s $200 million loss at her hands “not consequential” in a court filing Monday arguing for a light sentence for her fraud conviction.
The $200 million loss JPMorgan incurred in its purchase of Frank – done under the impression of incorrect information about Frank’s user base – was pennies on the dollar compared to its $4 trillion in assets and annual revenues exceeding $169 billion, Javice lawyer Sara Clark, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in Washington, D.C., argued.
“This case lacks the devastating human impact that typically justifies lengthy fraud sentences, and the Court should impose a penalty proportionate to the offense’s actual harm,” Clark wrote. “Evidence introduced at trial further underscores the limited practical impact of the alleged loss.”
Judge Alvin Hellerstein should “consider the unique nature of the victim” at her Sept. 29 sentencing, Javice’s lawyer argued. Comparing the bank’s annual revenue against the median U.S. household income of $80,610, the Frank co-founder’s lawyer said the bank’s alleged $200 million loss equates proportionately to $58.
“This comparison provides a more realistic picture of the relative scale of the alleged loss when measured against the resources of the institution involved,” Clark wrote.
Javice and Frank co-founder Olivier Amar were convicted on one count each of securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy in March, roughly two years after they were charged with those counts for allegedly grossly misleading JPMorgan on their user count. Both face years in prison.
Federal guidelines indicate that Javice should receive a 12-year sentence, according to a pre-sentence report by court staff seen by Bloomberg.
But Javice’s attorney argued the “absence of tangible or lasting harm to an individual victim or vulnerable community weighs strongly in favor of a below-Guidelines sentence” – and posited that unlike other companies involved in fraud, Javice’s fintech “delivered genuine social good” by helping students navigate the “often prohibitive” financial aid process.
Clark also compelled Hellerstein to consider Javice’s fertility concerns. Javice has undergone fertility treatments, and according to Clark, several of her friends and family have written the court for leniency “so she may have that chance” to be a mother.
Additionally, Clark wrote that a custodial sentence isn’t necessary to deter future conduct for Javice, whose effective banning from financial services and entrepreneurship, international shame in the media and financial ruin add up to “collateral consequences,” she wrote.
“A period of incarceration is not necessary ‘to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant,’” Clark wrote.
A JPMorgan spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
