Saturday, July 15, 2023

JPM Chase Fooled by Frank Founder Judge Asks of Due Diligence Next is August 15


by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 13 – JPMorgan Chase bought a start-up called Frank, which claimed to have 4 million students signed up to file their FAFSA forms, for $175 million. Then Chase learned Frank had only 300,000 customers.

On April 4, 2023, Frank founder Ms. Charlie Javice was brought before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses, represented by Quinn Emanuel. 

 The complaint quotes Javice messages with the engineers she hired to create the false data, and to enter in data she bought on the open market. To one of them, she is quoted, "We don't want to end up in orange jumpsuits."  

 In the tri-state, it is Westchester County Department of Corrections in Valhalla that dresses its inmates in orange. MDC Brooklyn uses beige; Essex County Corrections Facility in New Jersey uses yellow.

   In any event, white collar defendant Javice, who took on an appropriately or strategically contrite look on Worth Street still barricaded for the nearby state court arraignment of former President Donald Trump, was freed on $2 million bond, travel restricted to SDNY and EDNY and the Southern District of Florida, where she lives.

On May 18, Javice was indicted on bank, wire and securities fraud counts, and the case assigned to District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein.

In June the US prosecutors sought to intervene in and stay the SEC's case against Javice. Inner City Press attended and covered the oral argument and now first reports that Judge Lewis J. Liman has granted the motions to intervene and stay, noting among other things that "Javice will have access to a vast amount of material usable in the civil case through the means of Rule 16 discovery in the criminal case. That discovery will include virtually all of the SEC’s investigative file. And it will include documents from at least 30 different third parties. She has not made a convincing case that she needs more document discovery to be prepared to move quickly in this case when the criminal case is resolved and the stay is lifted."

The (stayed) civil case is Securities and Exchange Commission v. Javice et al, 23-cv-2795 (Liman)

On July 13, Javice and her co-defendant were arraigned, and Judge Hellerstein asked why JPMC didn't find the fraud in due diligence. Inner City Press was there, thread:

All rise!

Judge: How do you plead? Javice: Not guilty. Judge: How do you pronounce your name? Javace? Javice: "Jah-veese."

Judge: And Mr Amar?

Amar (takes off COVID mask still required in this courtroom) Not guilty

 Judge Hellerstein: I'm puzzled, why didn't JP Morgan Chase figure this out during due diligence? AUSA: They created fake data. [Javice is shaking her head No, pink cardigan tied over her shoulders]

 Judge: Defense wants a delay? Spiro: The US is just regurgitating JPM Chase's civil case. AUSA: Mr Spiro is confused about Rule 16. Judge: Can you subpoena JPMC? AUSA: We'd have to see if that complies with Rule 17. Judge to AUSA: Why don't *you* subpoena JPMC?

 AUSA: We'll be getting it. Judge: We'll meet in 30 days. August 15 at 11 am.  I'll sent a motion schedule at that time. Adjourned.

Back on May 22, Javice was arraigned, by video feed into the SDNY Mag Court. Inner City Press was there, thread here:

OK- now at Charlie Javice arraignment in SDNY Magistrates court - Javice is by video.

Mag Judge Gorenstein presiding. (Indicted case has been wheeled out to District Judge Hellerstein, who also has Trump removal of state criminal cass) Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel for Javice, also virtual

 Judge Gorenstein read off, To drfraud JPMC and a certain other bank."

Next date is July 13, 2023.

On July 11, the US filed a superseding indictment, still four counts, but adding Olivier Amar.

  This case is US v. Javice, 23-cr-251 (Hellerstein)

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