A Delaware judge recently denied JPMorgan's attempt to stop paying the ongoing legal defense costs for Charlie Javice, the founder of the fintech startup Frank. The bank is currently obligated to advance Javice's legal fees, which are estimated to be $74 million for Javice and over $115 million combined for Javice and her co-conspirator Olivier Amar, as part of a contractual agreement. JPMorgan had sought to overturn an earlier ruling that mandated these payments.
JPMorgan has accused Javice's legal team of treating the fee arrangement as a "blank check," detailing numerous questionable expenses in court filings that they say have no reasonable connection to a criminal defense. These alleged expenses include $530 on gummy bears, over $3,000 on first-class airline tickets, a $581 dinner with a $161 seafood tower, and $25,800 on hotel upgrades. Other flagged items range from a $284 car ride for half a mile, copious amounts of alcohol, cellulite butter, a Cookie Monster toddler toy, and over $5 million in charges for trial attendance alone.
While the judge's recent ruling did not address these specific lavish expenses, which JPMorgan is challenging separately, it did order the bank to continue complying with the existing fee-advancement order. An undisclosed sum for Javice's defense will be placed in escrow as an appeal proceeds. Javice, who was sentenced to seven years in prison for defrauding JPMorgan out of $175 million in the sale of Frank, is fighting to keep the bank responsible for her legal defense costs. Her spokesperson stated that Javice herself abided by JPMorgan policies and did not authorize or incur the disputed attorney expenses.
