Guilty Frank founder Charlie Javis is reportedly seeking a presidential pardon, with his camp quietly attracting people close to the Trump administration. According to WSJ. It said his name has not yet appeared on the Justice Department’s formal clemency request list.
That list is growing rapidly. As the administration is reportedly considering granting clemency to about 250 people this summer to mark America’s 250th birthday, a flood of clemency requests are coming from white-collar defendants – Including Sam Bankman-Fried.
JPMorgan can’t be happy with any of this. Last September, Javis was found guilty of creating millions of customer accounts to inflate the value of his startup before selling it to the bank for $175 million. She has now been serving a sentence for more than seven years and is appealing, arguing that the case against her was unfair.
The bank may have additional cause for concern given its relationship with President Trump. In early 2021, it shut down accounts linked to Trump and his businesses shortly after the January 6 Capitol riot, a move that Trump called political “debunking”, suing JPMorgan and CEO Jamie Dimon for it. $5 billion. (JPMorgan denies any political motive.)
Javis also has powerful friends, including Apollo’s Mark Rowan, an early Frank investor who testified on his behalf at the trial. Rowan has donated to Trump’s campaigns and, since his re-election, has donated millions more to Republican congressional groups.
