Several weeks ago, a big story broke through the noise of the financial media and got the attention of Twitter users and Wall Streeters alike: JPMorgan Chase, the world’s largest bank by market cap, was suing the 30-year-old founder of student loan startup Frank, which the bank acquired for $175 million—and which, as the bank alleged, was rife with fraud. The bank is accusing the young Frank founder, Charlie Javice, of faking 4 million user accounts to trick the bank into the acquisition in 2021. The story made headlines for its juicy details and heavy-hitting players, but a big question remained: Who at JPMorgan was responsible for the debacle—and how did the sophisticated bank miss the red flags?
My colleague Luisa Beltran set out to discover just that. And her recent deep dive, which you can read here, explores the lawsuit (filed late last year, following a lawsuit filed earlier against the bank by Javice) and her extensive reporting on who the key players are that were involved in the Frank deal. She found executives at the big bank that played a role in the ill-fated acquisition, as well as influential private investors.
