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JPMorgan Chase says it\u2019s been billed a total of $142 million in legal fees for the defense of Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar, respectively the founder and chief marketing officer at financial aid startup Frank.<\/p>\n
JPMorgan acquired Frank for $175 million in 2021, but earlier thai year, Javice and Amar were found guilty earlier of defrauding the bank by inflating Frank\u2019s customer count, with Javice sentenced to seven years in prison<\/a>. JPMorgan is now seeking to overturn a judge\u2019s order<\/a> requiring the bank to pay the pair\u2019s legal fees, as reported in The Wall Street Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Michael Pittinger, a lawyer representing JPMorgan, said that Javice\u2019s legal team billed for expenses including luxury hotel upgrades, 24 hours of work in a single day, and cellulite butter (a moisturizer).<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s never been a case, to my knowledge, with such extreme abuses,\u201d Pittinger said.<\/p>\n A spokesman for Javice told the WSJ that she abided by JPMorgan policies and \u201cdidn\u2019t charge or see any expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs an employee, she did purchase ice cream and other items in accordance with JPMorgan\u2019s code of conduct, and she never sought reimbursement for anything that wasn\u2019t expressly permitted under the guidelines she was given,\u201d Javice\u2019s spokesman said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n