The CEO of Tingo Mobile, Dozy Mmobuosi, has been accused of massive fraud by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Mmobuosi has been charged along with his three affiliated U.S.-based companies, Tingo Group Inc., Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc., and Tingo International Holdings Inc.
As per the SEC filing on December 18, the charges were filed in connection with an alleged multi-year scheme to inflate the financial performance metrics of these companies and key operating subsidiaries with the intention of defrauding investors worldwide.
The SEC is seeking emergency relief to prevent the continued spread of fabricated information to investors and to safeguard corporate and investor assets.
The allegations
The SEC filed a complaint on December 18, 2023, accusing Mmobuosi of leading a scheme to create false financial statements and other documents for three entities and their Nigerian subsidiaries, Tingo Mobile Limited and Tingo Foods PLC. The complaint also alleges that Mmobuosi and the entities made deceptive claims about their business operations and financial performance in press releases, SEC filings, and other public statements.
“For instance, Tingo Group’s fiscal year 2022 Form 10-K filed in March 2023 reported a cash and cash equivalent balance of $461.7 million in its subsidiary Tingo Mobile’s Nigerian bank accounts. In reality, those same bank accounts allegedly had a combined balance of less than $50 as of the end of fiscal year 2022. According to the SEC’s complaint, Defendants also fabricated the customer relationships that formed the basis of their purported businesses,” the SEC stated.
The complaint further alleges that Mmobuosi and the entities he controls have fraudulently obtained hundreds of millions in money or property through these schemes and that Mmobuosi has siphoned off funds for his benefit, including purchases of luxury cars and travel on private jets, as well as an unsuccessful attempt to acquire an English Football Club Premier League team, among other things.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against four individuals for violating anti-fraud provisions of federal securities laws. The complaint charges Nasdaq-listed Tingo Group, OTC-traded Agri-Fintech, and Mmobuosi with reporting, books and records, and internal controls violations.
Mmobuosi is also charged with lying to auditors, insider trading, and failing to file Forms 4, which disclosed the sales of millions of Agri-Fintech common stock, for which he was the ultimate beneficial owner. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and the return, under Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, of bonuses and profits obtained by Mmobuosi from sales of Tingo Group or Agri-Fintech stock.
Furthermore, the complaint seeks an order prohibiting Mmobuosi from acting as an officer or director of a public company or from participating in the offering of any penny stock.
Orders being sought
As part of the SEC’s emergency application, the SEC seeks an order to show cause and other temporary and preliminary relief against Defendants, including a temporary restraining order:
Freezing Mmobuosi’s assets
Prohibiting TIH, Agri-Fintech, and Tingo Group from transferring money or property or issuing shares to Mmobuosi;
Enjoining Defendants from selling or otherwise disposing of their respective holding in Agri-Fintech and/or Tingo Group stock;
Prohibiting Defendants and their agents from destroying, altering, or concealing records and documents; and
Ordering Defendants to show cause why a preliminary injunction continuing the relief outlined in any temporary restraining order as well as ordering repatriation of proceeds and a sworn accounting should not be entered.
The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Michael DiBattista, Christopher Mele, David Zetlin-Jones, Jeremy Brandt, Stephen Johnson, Elizabeth Baier, Gerald Gross, and Rebecca Reilly under the supervision of Tejal D. Shah, all of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.
The litigation is being led by Mr. Zetlin-Jones, Mr. DiBattista, and Mr. Brandt. The SEC appreciates the assistance of Nasdaq’s Enforcement Department.
