DELAWARE — Magistrate Christian Wright of the Delaware Court of Chancery ruled on July 2, 2026, that JPMorgan Chase must resume paying Charlie Javice's legal defense costs. The ruling orders JPMorgan Chase to advance approximately $10.1 million in disputed legal fees incurred by Javice between January and September 2025 and to pay these fees with interest.

Javice was convicted on all counts by a Manhattan jury in March 2025. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein sentenced her to 85 months in prison in September 2025. Judge Hellerstein also ordered Javice to pay $22.36 million in forfeiture and $287.5 million in restitution jointly with Olivier Amar. Javice is currently free on $2 million bail while appealing her conviction.

Pablo Rodriguez, a spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase, stated, "We respectfully disagree with the Delaware decision about the bounds of reasonableness and are considering next steps," while a spokesperson for Javice said the ruling was "a reminder that public narratives don't override contractual obligations." In his ruling, Magistrate Wright stated that JPMorgan Chase failed to meet its burden of proving Javice's legal fees were so unmistakably unreasonable or clearly abusive that they resulted from bad faith. JPMorgan Chase has been paying Javice's legal bills since June 2023 under an earlier Delaware court order. Delaware General Corporation Law Section 145 allows corporations to cover an officer's legal expenses in advance of the final disposition of a case.

JPMorgan Chase acquired the fintech startup Frank, where Javice had been designated as a corporate officer, for $175 million in 2021. Federal prosecutors stated that Javice falsely claimed Frank had data on more than 4 million students when its actual database contained information on approximately 300,000.