Halfway there! Dan DeFrancesco in NYC, and I’m amazed the Italian government wants to pass a law allowing them to fine people for mispronouncing words like “bruschetta.” Mamma mia! Just wait until they hear how people over here say “mozzarella.”
I still need questions for the upcoming reader mailbag. Drop any Wall Street (or non-Wall Street) questions you have for me here. (No email needed!) One caveat: Please no personal finance questions. I’m not a financial advisor.
Today, we’ve got stories on Jamie Dimon’s annual shareholder letter, why parking lots ruined the economy, and what you should buy next time you’re at Trader Joe’s.
But first, can I be Frank?
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1. Frankly, it’s a mess.
We’ve got another update on one of the wildest fintech deals in recent memory.
Charlie Javice, who sold her student-aid startup Frank to JPMorgan Chase back in 2021, was charged with fraud by federal prosecutors on Tuesday, Insider’s Katherine Long and Jack Newsham report.
A quick refresher: JPMorgan accused Javice of juicing Frank’s customer numbers in a lawsuit filed at the end of last year. The suit, which also named Frank’s former chief growth officer Olivier Amar, claimed Javice inflated the startup’s user numbers from roughly 300,000 to 4.25 million.
Meanwhile, Javice’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, previously told Insider that she was actually a whistleblower against the bank.
Well, it turns out that prosecutors and regulators aren’t seeing it that way. Prosecutors charged Javice with wire fraud affecting a financial institution, securities fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy. The Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against her.
I’m not one to suggest reading legal documents for pleasure, but the SEC complaint detailing the case against Javice includes a pretty fascinating timeline of events.
In particular, I appreciate Javice assuring an engineering director she allegedly propositioned about creating synthetic data to mimic actual users that it was legal and no one would end up in “orange jumpsuits.”
Life sure does come at you fast.
Look, it’s easy to pick on Javice, but let me be frank about one thing. (I had to get at least one pun in here.)
This is still an awful look for JPMorgan.
According to the complaint, verifying Frank’s user base was, understandably, a sticking point of the deal. After some jockeying back and forth, both sides agreed they would use a third party to “validate the coverage of the attribute data.”
But the validator’s report, per the complaint, just confirmed there was data in the various fields. It didn’t actually verify the information was accurate.
Excuse me?!
I get there are lots of hangups when it comes to sharing customer data. A little startup wants to get acquired by a big player. It shares all of its customer data and references and then *poof* the company’s not interested and the startup’s clients suddenly have new offers from the big player.
I also realize this was in the midst of a frenzied dealmaking environment, and JPMorgan had already made its fair share of fintech deals, but that’s still not an excuse.
How can JPMorgan look at that report, which only checked the data fields were “populated versus null/blank,” and be happy to push forward with the deal? Is this what due diligence is? I’ve joked about it before, but Taylor Swift really should teach a class on this stuff for Wall Street.
Read more about the the charges levied against Frank founder Charlie Javice.
And for more on how Javice built a following among investors and the media, click here.
In other news:
2. Jamie Dimon sounds off. The JPMorgan CEO published his annual shareholder note, and the 43-page letter spans a wide range of topics. Most notably, Dimon said the turmoil in the US banking industry isn’t over, and there could still be more pain to come. If you’re looking for the highlights, check out the eight best quotes from the letter.
3. Who’s next at JPM? Buried within JPMorgan’s 116-page annual proxy filing was a mention that Daniel Pinto, the bank’s president and COO, will be tapped as the “sole CEO” in case of emergency. That’s not to say Pinto is a shoo-in for the top job should Dimon step down. Check out our org chart of the top 114 executives at the bank to get a sense of the power structure at the firm.
4. AI is coming for the lawyers and bankers. A new study suggests the automation of jobs that will come from generative AI will hit the legal and finance industry the hardest. Meanwhile, blue-collar workers don’t have much to be worried about. More on who is at risk, and who isn’t, from the tech.
5. A Dutch fintech is pushing for a US banking license. Neobank Bunq has filed an application for a US banking license as it aims to do what European startups Revolut, N26, and Monzo have yet to achieve. Here’s more on Bunq’s US ambitions.
6. What housing bubble? If you’re waiting for housing prices to drop in these areas, good luck. We’ve got data on the 10 regions that have seen the largest increase in house prices over the past 25 years. Hint: Everything really is bigger in Texas.
7. Parking lots ruined the economy. It’s not the president or Wall Street or Congress that’s to blame. Parking lots, from the sheer amount of space they take up to the resources needed to build them, are a massive drag on the economy. Here’s why.
8. ChatGPT is Team Four-day Workweek. Economists and analysts believe the tech’s ability to improve employee productivity could help make the case for a shortened workweek. This is something we can all get behind.
9. Get your living room looking good for spring. We canvassed some interior designers for what’s hot, and what’s not, when it comes to living rooms. From curved furniture (in) to matching furniture sets (out), here’s what you need to know.
10. Trader Joe’s food recommendations from the people who know it best. Employees shared their picks for 10 of their favorite items from the grocery store. Here’s how they stacked up.
Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Feedback or tips? Email ddefrancesco@insider.com, tweet @dandefrancesco, or connect on LinkedIn. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.
Read the full article here
