Nigerian entrepreneur and the founder of Tingo Group, a global agri-fintech conglomerate, Dozy Mmobuosi has been charged by the U.S. authorities for allegedly running a "massive fraud" scheme that deceived investors and regulators.
He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy, securities fraud, and making false filings with the SEC.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mmobuosi inflated the financial performance and assets of his companies, including Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods, and sold them to U.S.-listed entities, such as Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, which then issued misleading financial statements.
He also siphoned off cash from these companies and profited from selling their shares at inflated prices.
The SEC, which filed a civil complaint against Mmobuosi and his companies in December 2023, said that Mmobuosi engaged in billions of dollars' worth of fictitious transactions since 2019, and that his fraud was of a "staggering" scope.
The SEC also suspended trading in Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings in November 2023, due to concerns about the accuracy and adequacy of publicly available information.
Mmobuosi's fraud was exposed by Hindenburg Research, a short-selling activist group, which published a report in June 2023, calling Tingo Group an "exceptionally obvious scam".
The report questioned Mmobuosi's claims of developing "Nigeria's first mobile payment app" and accused him of falsifying financials.
The report caused Tingo Group's shares to drop by over 60 percent.
Mmobuosi, who had planned to raise $500 million in a capital round and launch an IPO in 2022, has denied the allegations and said that he would fight them in court.
He has also claimed that he is a victim of a conspiracy and that his companies are legitimate and profitable.
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Nigerian entrepreneur and the founder of Tingo Group, Dozy Mmobuosi