A federal judge in Manhattan on Tuesday refused a request to overturn the conviction of Charlie Javice in the case alleging she defrauded JPMorgan Chase in the bank's acquisition of her education technology company Frank for $175 million.
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected arguments that two of his law clerks had conflicts of interest because they had accepted positions at Davis Polk & Wardwell. The clerkship ties included prior work as summer associates at the law firm, which the judge said did not create an appearance of partiality that would require a new trial for Javice or for co-defendant Olivier Amar, who served as Frank's chief growth officer.
Hellerstein, 92, said there was no evidence he had relied too heavily on his clerks during the proceedings. The defendants had accused a clerk of "participating in real time" in decisions about key testimony, but the judge found no support for the suggestion that a reasonable observer, after watching the whole trial, would question his impartiality.
"The evidence in this case was strong, and there is no concern here that an innocent person may have been convicted," Hellerstein wrote, reaffirming the jury's findings.
Lawyers for Javice and Amar did not immediately respond to requests for comment after business hours. The law firm in question, Davis Polk, is a large national firm with more than 1,000 lawyers, according to its website. Neither Davis Polk nor JPMorgan was a defendant in the criminal action.
Javice, 34, who launched Frank in 2017, had been commended for efforts to simplify the college financial aid process for students and families. Prosecutors allege she misled JPMorgan by inflating Frank's customer numbers prior to the 2021 sale. JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon has called the 2021 acquisition a "huge mistake."
Last March, a jury found Javice and Amar guilty of bank fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud. Hellerstein has sentenced Javice to 85 months in prison and Amar to 68 months. Javice has filed an appeal of her conviction. The judge said Amar is scheduled to surrender on May 5.
Context and legal outcome
The court's decision turned on whether the clerks' prior and prospective employment relationships with a firm that represented other clients posed an appearance of judicial partiality. Hellerstein concluded the record did not support a view that the clerk affiliations had a prejudicial effect on the trial's outcome or on his conduct as the presiding judge.
The ruling leaves intact the convictions and sentences already imposed, while the appellate process for Javice continues.