SEC Fines Dozy Mmobuosi $250M for Fraud; Company’s Financial Misreporting Revealed
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed a $250 million penalty on Dozy Mmobuosi, a Nigerian businessman and former CEO of Tingo Group, for falsifying the company’s financial performance. The SEC’s investigation, which commenced in 2023, uncovered that Tingo Group and its subsidiary, Tingo Mobile, had misrepresented their revenue and cash reserves.
The probe revealed that Tingo Mobile’s reported cash balance in Nigerian accounts was grossly overstated. This discrepancy led to charges of fraudulent financial reporting against Mmobuosi. In addition to the monetary penalty, Mmobuosi has been barred from holding any directorial positions in public companies.
The SEC’s ruling also prohibits Tingo Group and its affiliates from engaging in further violations of securities fraud laws. Although Tingo Group has denied the allegations, neither Mmobuosi nor the company contested the civil complaint, resulting in a default judgment.
Earlier reports from December 18, 2023, indicated that Mmobuosi was facing charges from the SEC related to falsified financial statements and records involving Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods Plc, among other Tingo Group entities.
In 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Tingo Group, a company listed on NASDAQ that markets itself as an agri-fintech and reported substantial revenue. By December 2023, the SEC had filed charges against Tingo Group and its CEO, Dozy Mmobuosi, for allegedly inflating the financial performance metrics of the company and its subsidiaries to deceive global investors.
On August 28, 2024, the SEC announced that final judgments had been entered against Mmobuosi and three U.S.-based entities: Tingo Group Inc., Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc., and Tingo International Holdings Inc. The SEC accused Mmobuosi of orchestrating a multi-year scheme to falsify financial data.
The SEC’s charges against Mmobuosi included providing false information to investors and orchestrating a significant fraud. Following the charges, Mmobuosi temporarily stepped down as co-CEO of Tingo Group on December 20, 2023. A month prior, the SEC had suspended trading of Tingo Group’s securities. The SEC revealed that Tingo Mobile had reported $461.7 million in cash for 2022, but the actual balance was under $50 million.
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