The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York fined Mmobuosi Odogwu Banye, also known as Dozy Mmobuosi, $250 million together with three U.S.-based companies, including Tingo Group Inc., where he served as CEO over accusations of scamming investors and inflating company financial performance.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint detailing how Mr Mmobuosi falsified financial records for “Tingo Group Inc., Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc., and Tingo International Holdings Inc. and their Nigerian operating subsidiaries, Tingo Mobile Limited and Tingo Foods PLC,” said an August 28 statement by the commission announcing the court’s judgement.
Citing an instance, Tingo Group under Mmobuosi’s leadership claimed it had “a cash and cash equivalent balance of $461.7 million” in the bank accounts of its Nigerian subsidiary Tingo Mobile but checks by the SEC showed that the accounts had a combined balance less than $50.
The commission said Mmobuosi parroted the fabricated records in press statements to mislead investors and exaggerate the companies’ financial influence.
The Tingo Group defended the misstatement of several millions in its financial statements as only “typographical errors,” insisting it was innocent of the fraud allegations, an argument that did not hold water in the U.S. Court.
The judgement barred Mmobuosi from serving as a “director of a public company, a penny stock bar, and a bar from participating in the purchase, sale, offer, or issuance of any security.”
Mmobuosi and the companies under his control “syphoned off funds for his personal benefit, including purchases of luxury cars” private jets trips, the SEC said.
The Nigerian CEO further attempted to use the ill-gotten funds to “acquire an English Football Club Premier League team” in a deal that fell through.
The court ordered Mmobuosi and the companies under his control to pay fines running into $250 million and disgorge for cancellation all shares owned by the entities.
“Tingo International and Mmobuosi are ordered jointly and severally to pay disgorgement of $156,672,705.86 with prejudgment interest of $20,193,871.58, and to disgorge for cancellation all shares of Agri-Fintech stock that Tingo International and Mmobuosi own,” SEC said in a statement
“Agri-Fintech and Mmobuosi are ordered jointly and severally to pay disgorgement of $12,164,000.00 with prejudgment interest of $574,682.90 and to disgorge for cancellation all shares of Tingo Group stock that Agri-Fintech and Mmobuosi own.”
“Mmobuosi is also ordered to pay disgorgement of $27,632,627.93 with prejudgment interest of $2,032,811.14, to disgorge for cancellation the $204,000,000.00 promissory note inuring to his benefit against Tingo Group, and a civil penalty of $31,908,704.21.”
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