JPMorgan Chase says it has been billed a total of $142 million in legal fees to defend Charlie Javis and Olivier Amar, the founder and chief marketing officer of financial aid startup Frank, respectively.
JPMorgan acquired Frank for $175 million in 2021, but earlier in the year, Javis and Amar were found guilty of defrauding the bank by inflating Frank’s client count. Javis was sentenced to seven years in prisonJP Morgan is now Seeking to overturn a judge’s order The bank needs to pay the couple’s legal fees Reported in the Wall Street Journal,
Michael Pittinger, a lawyer representing JPMorgan, said Javis’ legal team footed the bill for expenses including luxury hotel upgrades, 24-hour work in a single day and cellulite butter (a moisturizer).
“To my knowledge, there has never been a case of this type of extreme abuse,” Pittinger said.
A spokesperson for Javis told the WSJ that it adheres to JPMorgan’s policies and “does not charge any fees or incur any expenses.”
A Javis spokesperson said, “As an employee, she purchased ice cream and other items in accordance with JPMorgan’s code of conduct, and she never sought reimbursement for anything that was not explicitly permitted under the guidelines she provided.”
