Former co-chief executive of Tingo Group Dozy Mmobuosi has been fined $250 million for inflating the company’s financial performance.
Judge Jesse Furman of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York delivered the judgment against Mmobuosi and the companies, including two Nasdaq-listed entities, Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, as well as Tingo International Holdings.
Despite Tingo Group’s denial of the charges, neither Mmobuosi nor the company presented a defence in the civil complaint, resulting in a default judgment by the court.
According to the court, Mmobuosi and his firms had “failed to answer, plead, or otherwise defend” themselves in response to the civil complaint filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last December.
In addition to the fine, Mmobuosi has been barred from serving as a director of any public company.
Prosecutors had said Mmobuosi falsely represented that his Tingo Mobile cellular business and Tingo Foods agriculture business were profitable, generating hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue.
According to the indictment, Mmobuosi sold both businesses to Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, and caused them to falsely portray the businesses as “cash-rich, revenue-generating companies,” and looted millions of dollars by misappropriating cash and selling stock at inflated prices.
According to prosecutors, the alleged scheme occurred from 2019 to 2023.
A statement published by TheCable on Monday quoted the US SEC as saying, “The judgments, entered on the basis of default, enjoin Mmobuosi, Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech Holdings, and Tingo International Holdings from violating the anti-fraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.”
The indictment was made public after the short-seller Hindenburg Research accused Tingo Group of having “fabricated” its financials, and challenged Mmobuosi’s claim to have developed Nigeria’s first mobile payment app.
The Nigerian denies any wrongdoing.
