The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially filed charges against Dozy Mmobuosi, CEO of Tingo Group, and three affiliated entities—Tingo Group Inc., Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc., and Tingo International Holdings Inc.
The charges stem from an alleged multi-year scheme, spearheaded by Mmobuosi, to inflate financial performance metrics and fabricate documents for Tingo Group and its subsidiaries, Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods PLC.
The SEC’s complaint, filed on December 18, 2023, outlines a series of grave allegations against Mmobuosi, accusing him of orchestrating a scheme since at least 2019 to deceive investors worldwide.
The complaint asserts that Mmobuosi fabricated financial statements and misled investors through press releases, SEC filings, and public statements. Notably, Tingo Group’s 2022 Form 10-K, filed in March 2023, reported a substantial cash balance in its Nigerian subsidiary’s bank accounts, while in reality, those accounts allegedly held less than $50 at the end of fiscal year 2022.
Furthermore, the SEC claims that Mmobuosi and the entities under his control fraudulently obtained hundreds of millions through these deceptive practices. Allegedly, Mmobuosi diverted funds for personal gain, including luxury purchases, private jet travel, and an unsuccessful attempt to acquire an English Football Club Premier League team.
The SEC’s charges include violations of anti-fraud provisions, reporting, books and records, and internal controls violations. Mmobuosi faces additional charges of lying to auditors, insider trading, and failure to disclose the sale of millions of Agri-Fintech common stock. The SEC seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil penalties, and the return of bonuses and profits obtained by Mmobuosi.
As part of the SEC’s emergency application, temporary and preliminary relief is sought, including a restraining order freezing Mmobuosi’s assets and prohibiting money or property transfers. The SEC also aims to prevent the destruction of records, enjoin the sale of stock holdings, and order a repatriation of proceeds with a sworn accounting.
Dozy Mmobuosi, along with Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech, and Tingo International Holdings, now faces charges that range from insider trading to lying to auditors and internal controls violations.
The SEC’s investigation, led by a team from the New York Regional Office, follows a month after the agency formally launched an inquiry into Tingo Group. This development coincided with the SEC’s suspension of trading in the shares of the self-described agritech company.
The charges against Tingo Group and its CEO come on the heels of an earlier report by Hindenburg Group, a prominent American short seller, which labeled Tingo Group as an “exceptionally obvious scam with completely fabricated financials” in June 2023.
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