JPMorgan Chase reports it has been charged a total of $142 million in legal fees for defending Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar, who are the founder and chief marketing officer at the financial aid startup Frank.
JPMorgan acquired Frank for $175 million in 2021. However, earlier this year, Javice and Amar were found guilty of defrauding the bank by exaggerating Frank’s customer numbers, with Javice receiving a seven-year prison sentence. JPMorgan is currently trying to challenge a judge’s decision that requires the bank to cover the duo’s legal fees, as detailed by The Wall Street Journal.
Michael Pittinger, an attorney representing JPMorgan, pointed out that Javice’s legal team has billed for various expenses, including upscale hotel upgrades, 24-hour workdays, and even cellulite butter, which is a moisturizer.
“To my knowledge, there has never been a case with such extreme abuses,” Pittinger stated.
A spokesperson for Javice told the WSJ that she adhered to JPMorgan policies and “didn’t charge or see any expenses.”
“As an employee, she did purchase ice cream and other items following JPMorgan’s code of conduct, and she never sought reimbursement for anything outside of what was explicitly allowed under the guidelines she received,” the spokesperson added.
