This is Episode #3 in a deep dive on con artist Charlie Javice, the Forbes 30 Under 30 "business leader" who raked in millions from investors for her phony fintech startup Frank while scamming customers and leaving behind a trail of missed red flags.
Watch the series
Episode #1: Charlie's shady "nonprofit" lands her a reality show
Episode #2: Charlie launches the most hypocritical startup ever
Episode #3: Charlie cons JPMorgan into buying a list of fake emails
Episode #4: Charlie claims she’s the victim and sues JPMorgan
Episode #5: Judge forces JPMorgan to pay Charlie’s legal bills
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Charlie Javice's employees called her "the king of finding magic numbers."
Before a big pitch to a potential bank investor, Charlie directed her team to update her startup Frank’s homepage to state that 4.25 million students were using her company to get financial aid.
But at the time of this request, Frank's site said that it had helped only 350,000 students access financial aid resources.
Archived on wayback machine on Dec. 18, 2021, and Jan. 21, 2021
Once other employees found out about Charlie's dramatic pre-pitch revisions, they kept it real in private messages.
To see more behind-the-scenes messages from the Frank team, watch the episode.
Are College Students Clueless About Credit? via MoneyWatch
College campus credit cards via Doug Richards
College Student's Credit Card Debt via hollylovestexas
Court records for JPMorgan Chase Bank’s civil case against Charlie Javice via CourtListener including JPMC’s complaint, Charlie’s counterclaim, and additional exhibits and a brief by JPMC referencing internal Slack messages at Frank
Court records for the U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal case against Charlie Javice via CourtListener including the DOJ's complaint
Court records for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s criminal case against Charlie Javice via CourtListener including the SEC’s complaint
Court records for Charlie Javice’s civil complaint against JPMorgan Chase Bank via Fortune
Credit CARD Act of 2009 didn’t break the world, it fixed a broken marketplace via PIRG
Credit Card Marketing Act via Naperville Community Television
Founder of startup Frank accused of “old school fraud” via MSNBC
Frank Financial Aid’s homepage stating “4.25 Million students trust Frank” archived on Feb. 22, 2021, via Wayback Machine
Frank Financial Aid’s homepage stating “We’ve helped over 350,000 people access financial aid resources” archived on Dec. 18, 2021, and Jan. 21, 2021, via Wayback Machine
Frank Financial Aid’s privacy policy archived on June 6, 2017, and June 16, 2021, via Wayback Machine
JPMorgan buys college financial planning platform Frank via CNBC
JPMorgan Chase buys financial aid platform Frank via Yahoo Finance
My first unsecured credit card came with a $20,000 limit—here’s why that is rare today via CNBC
This data company knows all about you (Acxiom profile) via CNN Business
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About Guzzle
Hi! I'm Mary, and I make Guzzle, a YouTube series that spills the tea on shady money-makers. I investigate scammers, report on suspicious tactics, and try to help y'all avoid financial harm. The full story →