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Re:Javice and the Data Science Professor Create Fake Customers by wcedmisten on Friday January 13, 2023 @10:33PM (#34377148)
> JPMC first noticed irregularities with the list when a JPMC employee observed that the list contained exactly 1,048,576 rows, the maximum permitted by Microsoft Excel.

> JPMC has all the emails showing the fraud because Javice and Amar used Frank's email accounts to create the Fake Customer List and the email accounts now belong to JPMC following the Merger

Seems pretty sloppy for defrauding a company out of $175 million.

Do acquisitions usually have more due diligence for verifying customers? It seems like it would be trivial to create 4 million plausible customers in a spreadsheet.

Re:Javice and the Data Science Professor Create Fake Customers by jcims on Saturday January 14, 2023 @04:57AM (#34378914)
I’m no m&a expert but I’ve been involved with due diligence for a few acquisitions nearly identical to this. It’s a somewhat adversarial process wrapped in pleasantries and some extension of good faith. It’s nearly impossible to vet everything, particularly when the investment isn’t of material risk to the organization and the business wants to move quickly.

The challenge here is with the fact that privacy rules still very much apply and data management during due diligence can be haphazard. The acquiring company doesn’t just automatically get access to everything, it’s a negotiation. JPMC could have literally asked ‘send us your customer database’ and Frank could (and should) say no way and talks still continue.

The one thing i don’t get is how this didn’t also show in their financials.

Re:Javice and the Data Science Professor Create Fake Customers by nerdponx on Saturday January 14, 2023 @04:58AM (#34378917)
There's something heartwarming about an Excel implementation detail being the key to unlocking a $175 million conspiracy.