The criminal trial against Fintech startup founder Charlie Havis began Friday, with lawyers lifting their opening discussion, Reuters reported.
The lawyers repeated their initial claims and defenses from the lawsuit filed by JPMorgan Chase against Javice in December 2022. The financial services giant claims that Javice “fakes millions of customers to buy a company from a bank.” Startup Frank, $175 million. The accusations were also the root of the SEC complaint, with Javice accusing millions of Frank users of “making numerous misrepresentations” of seducing JPMorgan.
JP Morgan claims it discovered alleged fraud when more than 70% of its marketing test emails bounced back on Frank’s list of customers.
Javice’s lawyers allege that JPMorgan had given them sufficient diligence, and the lawsuit is the result of buyers’ regret due to a government change in the way financial aid forms are filled out. They say claiming fraud is a way to get out of the transaction.
Javice, now 32, could face years of sentence if convicted of deception and creating fake data.
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