Nigerian entrepreneur Dozy Mmobuosi has been ordered to pay over $250 million in fines following a fraud case brought against him and three of his companies by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This ruling from the U.S. federal court marks a significant downturn for Mmobuosi, who was previously in the spotlight for his bold attempt to purchase Sheffield United, a renowned English football club.
Judge Jesse M. Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York delivered the final judgment against Mmobuosi and his companies, which include two Nasdaq-listed entities, Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, as well as Tingo International Holdings. The court found that Mmobuosi and his firms had “failed to answer, plead, or otherwise defend” themselves against the civil complaint filed by the SEC last December.
The SEC’s complaint accused Mmobuosi of orchestrating large-scale fraud by inflating the financial performance metrics of his companies to deceive investors globally. The commission described Mmobuosi’s business empire, which claimed to operate in the fintech and agricultural technology sectors, as largely “fictional.”
Among the allegations, Tingo Mobile, a subsidiary of Tingo Group, falsely reported having cash reserves of $461.7 million in 2022, whereas the SEC found the actual balance to be less than $50. The SEC’s investigation uncovered numerous exaggerated claims, including Tingo Group’s supposed customer base of over nine million Nigerian farmers.
Mmobuosi’s companies came under scrutiny after Hindenburg Research, a U.S.-based short-seller, published a report labeling Tingo Group as an “extremely clear scam.” The report caused Tingo’s stock price to plummet by over 60% on the day of its release, raising serious doubts about the legitimacy of Mmobuosi’s operations. Following this, the SEC suspended trading in the shares of Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, citing concerns over the accuracy of publicly available information.
