Asked to do something illegal at work? Here’s what these software engineers did
Update on 2 Oct 2025: back in 2021, Charlie Javice, CEO of student loan startup Frank pressured a software engineer to inflate customer numbers. She told the engineer that she did not believe that anyone would end up in an ‘orange jumpsuit’ just for this. Still, the engineer refused – and was proven right. Javice, in fact, did end up in an orange jumpsuit, sentenced to 7 years of prison in 2025 for fraud.The below topic was sent out to full subscribers of The Pragmatic Engineer, three weeks ago, in The Pulse #66. I have received several messages from people asking if they can pay to “unlock” this information for others, given how vital it is for software engineers. It is vital, and so I’m sharing this with all readers, without a paywall. In the unlikely case that you are…
