JPMorgan Chase has disclosed that it incurred a substantial sum of $142 million in legal fees for defending Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar, who are respectively the founder and chief marketing officer of the financial aid startup Frank.
The acquisition of Frank by JPMorgan for $175 million in 2021 took a controversial turn when Javice and Amar were convicted of defrauding the bank by exaggerating Frank’s customer base. Javice was sentenced to seven years in prison for his involvement in the scheme. In response, JPMorgan is challenging a court ruling that mandated the bank to cover the legal expenses of the accused duo, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
According to Michael Pittinger, an attorney representing JPMorgan, Javice’s legal team submitted invoices for extravagant items such as luxury hotel room upgrades, an excessive amount of work in a single day, and even cellulite butter. Pittinger expressed disbelief at the extent of these billing practices, stating, “There’s never been a case, to my knowledge, with such extreme abuses.”
A spokesperson for Javice refuted the claims made by JPMorgan, asserting that she adhered to the bank’s policies and did not submit any wrongful expenses. The spokesperson clarified that Javice only made authorized purchases in accordance with JPMorgan’s code of conduct and never sought reimbursement for unauthorized items.
