FRANK EXECUTIVE OLIVIER AMAR SENTENCED IN $175 MILLION JPMORGAN SCANDAL
Wall Street is reeling after Olivier Amar, the former chief growth officer of the college-finance startup Frank, was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months in federal prison for his role in one of the most shocking corporate frauds in recent memory — the $175 million JPMorgan Chase acquisition scam.
Amar, alongside Frank’s founder Charlie Javice, was found guilty of fabricating documents that inflated the company’s user base from fewer than 400,000 students to more than 4 million, convincing JPMorgan that it was buying a thriving fintech platform helping college students access financial aid. The deception led the banking giant to purchase Frank in 2021 — a deal JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon later called a “huge mistake.”
Prosecutors revealed that Amar played a key role in orchestrating the fake data, working directly on documents used to mislead the bank’s executives and investors. Although he wasn’t the mastermind, the judge emphasized that his involvement was “crucial to the execution and concealment” of the fraud.
In addition to his prison sentence, Amar was ordered to pay $223 million in restitution, which includes $54 million in legal costs, marking one of the steepest penalties in a white-collar case this year. Meanwhile, Javice received a 7-year sentence, underscoring the severity of the scheme and its impact on Wall Street’s faith in fintech startups.
Federal prosecutors called the case a wake-up call for the venture capital world, where rapid growth and inflated valuations often overshadow transparency. Regulators say the Frank scandal will likely push banks and investors to tighten due diligence on tech acquisitions, especially in the post-pandemic startup boom.
Once hailed as a young visionary helping students navigate financial aid, Amar now joins the list of executives whose pursuit of fast success ended in disgrace — and prison.
