In the past three years, JPMorgan Chase Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar, two convicted fraudsters who sold their financial aid startup Frank to a bank, have taken legal responsibility.
But the bank said in a court filing late Friday that the pair had already incurred astronomical nine-figure legal fees, far in excess of any reasonable amount needed to defend their case. The bank argued that Chase should not have to pay the fees and that its agreement to cover the fees as part of the startup acquisition should be terminated.
Jarvis’ team of five law firms billed JPMorgan approximately $60.1 million in legal fees and expenses, while Ammar’s attorneys billed JPMorgan approximately $55.2 million, documents show.
The bank said attorneys for Jarvis and Ammar collected a combined $115 million in legal fees, with one law firm receiving only $35.6 million in reimbursements. By comparison, Elizabeth Holmes, who was convicted of defrauding investors in the Theranos case, reportedly ended up paying about $30 million in legal fees.
The bank said it would be “irreparably harmed” if the courts did not stop “abusive billing”. Chase said Jarvis and her attorneys viewed the process as “a blank check.”
Javice, 33, was convicted in March Defrauding banking giants In the summer of 2021, the company acquired her company, Frank. She created false records to make it appear that Frank had more than 4 million customers, when in fact the company had fewer than 300,000 customers. Amar was also found guilty of the same crime.
Early in the case, a Delaware court ruled that the bank needed to advance any legal fees to Javice and Amar as part of the bank’s agreement when Frank was acquired in 2021.
Jarvis’ legal team includes Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel, who also previously represented Elon Musk. Spiro did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The law firm representing Ammar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pablo Rodriguez, a spokesman for the bank, said: “The legal fees sought by Charlie Javice and Olivier Amar are clearly excessive and egregious. We look forward to sharing the details of this abusive behavior with the court in the coming weeks.”