Charlie Javice, former CEO of Frank, was charged with fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday and released on a $2 million bond. She was also named named in Forbes 30 Under 30 – Finance in 2019. Arwa Mahdawi wrote about the growing number of fraud cases in the magazine’s list:
“The Forbes 30 Under 30 have collectively raised $5.3B in funding,” the tech entrepreneur Chris Bakke tweeted on Tuesday. “The Forbes 30 Under 30 have also been arrested for frauds and scams worth over $18.5B. Incredible track record.” The first number comes from Forbes and the second is Bakke’s own back-of-an-envelope calculation, but you get the gist: the line between innovator and fraudster seems to have become alarmingly thin.
Let’s be honest: if one person is making billions, it’s coming at the expense of many others who aren’t billionaires. So this should come as no surprise in principle, but seeing the those back-of-an-envelope numbers is wild in isolation. And knowing funding will continue to flow, fraud cases will pile up, and high bails will continue to be set.