The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Dozy Mmobuosi, the Chief Executive Officer of Tingo Group Inc., Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc., and Tingo International Holdings Inc., with lying about the financial performance of his companies and key operating subsidiaries to defraud investors worldwide.
The SEC alleges that Mmobuosi spearheaded a scheme to fabricate financial statements and other documents of the three entities and their Nigerian operating subsidiaries, Tingo Mobile Limited and Tingo Foods PLC, since at least 2019.
The SEC’s complaint, filed on December 18, 2023, further alleges that Mmobuosi and the entities he controls have fraudulently obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in money or property through these schemes.
The complaint also alleges that Mmobuosi made and caused the entities to make material misrepresentations about their business operations and financial success in press releases, periodic SEC filings, and other public statements.
The SEC seeks emergency relief to prevent the defendants’ continued dissemination of false information to investors and protect corporate and investor assets.
The commission added that Mmobuosi was being charged with violating the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws, lying to auditors, insider trading, and failing to file Forms 4 disclosing the sales of millions of Agri-Fintech common stock for which he was the ultimate beneficial owner.
For instance, Tingo Group’s fiscal year 2022 Form 10-K filed in March 2023 they reported a cash and cash equivalent balance of $461.7m in its subsidiary Tingo Mobile’s Nigerian bank accounts.
However, according to the SEC’s complaint, those duplicate bank accounts allegedly had a combined balance of less than $50 as of the end of fiscal year 2022.
The complaint alleges that Defendants also fabricated the customer relationships that formed the basis of their purported businesses.
Mmobuosi has allegedly siphoned off funds for his benefit, including purchases of luxury cars and travel on private jets and an unsuccessful attempt to acquire an English Football Club Premier League team, among other things.
The case is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the four defendants are being charged with violating the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws.