Entrepreneur Charlie Javice has been sentenced to 85 months in prison for defrauding JPMorgan Chase in the bank’s $175 million acquisition of her college financial aid start-up, Frank.

The sentence was handed down by US district judge Alvin Hellerstein at a hearing in Manhattan federal court following Javice’s March conviction on bank fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy.

Prosecutors said Javice, 33, falsely claimed Frank had 4.25 million customers when the real number was closer to 300,000, and presented fabricated user data to convince the bank to buy the business in September 2021. In court filings, prosecutors sought 12 years, describing the conduct as a “brazen fraud” designed to inflate the company’s value. Javice’s lawyers argued for a significantly shorter term of around 18 months, calling her actions a “single lapse in judgment” and saying the loss was “not consequential” to a bank of JPMorgan’s size.

Announcing the sentence, judge Hellerstein underscored the need for deterrence in white-collar cases. “The offense required a great deal of duplicity,” he said. “Honesty in a market is required.” He added that he was “punishing her conduct, not JPMorgan’s stupidity,” while noting the bank’s “very poor due diligence.”

Javice addressed the court in a tearful statement, apologising to “the shareholders of JPMorgan” and to her family and colleagues. “At my core I still believe I’m a good person,” she said. “Whatever sentence is imposed, I will accept with dignity and humility.” She also said: “I am deeply sorry, and I am asking with all my heart for forgiveness,” adding that she would “never make the same mistakes again.” Bloomberg (url://21) Javice, who pleaded not guilty at trial, is expected to appeal.

JPMorgan bought Frank to access its purportedly large base of student users, with senior leadership later conceding the deal was a “huge mistake” once the customer figures could not be substantiated. After the acquisition, the bank said it was unable to email much of the claimed user list and concluded the data had been falsified.

Javice founded Frank in 2017 and had been celebrated for simplifying financial aid processes, including appearing on Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list in 2019. Her co-defendant Olivier Amar, Frank’s chief growth officer, was convicted on the same counts and is due to be sentenced on 20 October.

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