NEW YORK (AP) — Olivier Amar, a high-ranking executive at the financial aid startup Frank, was sentenced Wednesday to five years and eight months in prison for fraudulently misleading JPMorgan Chase during its acquisition of the company for $175 million four years ago.
This sentencing occurred in Manhattan federal court and followed the earlier sentencing of Frank's founder, Charlie Javice, who received a seven-year prison term for the same scheme.
Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein remarked that Amar played a significant role in the fraud, which involved falsifying documents that claimed Frank had more than 4 million customers, while in reality, it had fewer than 400,000. The judge noted that while Amar was not the originator of the fraud, he was intricately involved.
The fraudulent actions came to light during a jury trial held in March, where it was revealed that both Amar and Javice had provided fake records intended to convince JPMorgan Chase that Frank had a much larger customer base than it actually did. This deception was crucial to the bank's decision to proceed with the acquisition as it sought a customer base to utilize its banking services.
Before being sentenced, Amar expressed deep remorse in court, stating that the scandal had caused immense pain to his family, a feeling that would stay with him forever. He shared his sadness over the downfall of Frank, which was initially developed to assist students in applying for financial aid and obtaining college education.
“I’m heartbroken by the suffering caused in the aftermath of Frank’s downfall,” he lamented. In addition to the prison sentence, Amar was ordered to pay $223 million in restitution, which included $54 million in legal fees that prosecutors said the bank was obliged to pay on Amar's behalf due to his work on Frank after the acquisition.
