JPMorgan Chase has been ordered by a Delaware judge to continue paying the legal defense bills for Charlie Javice, the convicted fraudster behind the college financial-aid startup Frank. The bank's bid to halt what it described as "astronomical" defense costs, now exceeding $70 million for Javice and over $136 million combined for her and a co-convicted executive, was rejected.
Magistrate Judge Christian Wright of the Delaware Chancery Court ruled that JPMorgan failed to demonstrate that Javice's legal fees were "so unmistakably unreasonable or clearly abusive" as to indicate bad faith. This decision mandates that JPMorgan advance approximately $10.1 million in legal fees for Javice incurred between January and September 2025.
Javice was convicted in March 2025 for defrauding JPMorgan Chase into paying $175 million for Frank, a startup she founded. Prosecutors stated Javice falsely claimed Frank possessed data on over 4 million students, when in reality, it had information on only about 300,000. She was sentenced to 85 months in prison and is appealing both her conviction and sentence. Javice is also reportedly seeking a presidential pardon.
The bank also sought to cease payment of legal fees for Olivier Amar, former chief growth officer at Frank, who was convicted alongside Javice and sentenced to 68 months in prison. The court also rejected this request, ordering JPMorgan to continue advancing roughly $11.3 million in Amar's disputed legal fees for the same period.
JPMorgan had argued that the costs had escalated beyond control and sought to terminate its obligation to finance Javice's defense, citing advancement rights from its 2021 acquisition of Frank. In court filings unsealed last year, the bank highlighted disputed expenses submitted by Javice's defense team, including hundreds of dollars for gummy bears, thousands for first-class airfare, a costly dinner, and luxury hotel upgrades. Other objections included charges for short car rides, cocktails, cellulite butter, a Spotify subscription, a suitcase, a novelty toy, a pet hair roller, a coffee maker, and transportation to a museum.
A spokesman for Javice countered that these disputed expenses were not incurred, used, or approved by her, characterizing them as attorney expenses intended to distract from JPMorgan's contractual obligation to advance her legal fees.
JPMorgan has been advancing Javice's legal bills since June 2023 under a prior court order. The current dispute focuses on these advancement rights, rather than the ultimate indemnification of Javice. Under Delaware corporate law and the merger agreement for Frank, JPMorgan is required to cover legal expenses while the reasonableness and scope of those bills are litigated.