Charlie Javice, the millennial tech CEO accused of inflating her startup company’s user base to raise the price in a massive sale to JPMorgan Chase, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court on Monday. Javice, 31, faces charges of conspiracy, wire fraud affecting a financial institution and bank fraud. The charges stem from allegations by JPMorgan Chase that Javice, while pitching her company to the bank, juiced the number of customers she said her college financial-planning site had by more than 13 times what they actually were—resulting in an eventual $175 million sale. In reality, prosecutors allege that the company, Frank, had just under 300,000 customers, not the 4 million Javice claimed. Javice, once featured in Forbes’ 30 Under 30, is facing the possibility of decades in prison if convicted of all charges.
