The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has secured a default judgment against Odogwu Dozy Mmobuosi, the former CEO of Tingo Group, and three companies affiliated with him, resulting in over $250 million in monetary relief.
The judgment, issued by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman, comes after Mmobuosi and his companies failed to respond to SEC accusations of inflating financial results to defraud investors.
In an August 29 statement, the SEC detailed that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York finalized judgments against Mmobuosi, also known as Dozy Mmobuosi, and three U.S.-based entities: Tingo Group Inc., Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc., and Tingo International Holdings Inc. The court’s decision was handed down on August 28.
Mmobuosi was accused of orchestrating a multi-year scheme to artificially inflate the financial performance metrics of his companies and their subsidiaries, misleading investors around the world.
On December 18, 2023, the SEC initially charged Mmobuosi, citing his provision of “false information to investors” and involvement in “a staggering fraud.”
Just two days later, Mmobuosi temporarily stepped down as Tingo Group’s co-CEO. A month prior, the SEC had suspended trading in Tingo Group’s securities.
One particularly egregious example highlighted by the SEC involved Tingo Group’s fiscal year 2022 form 10-K, filed in March 2023.
The company reported a cash balance of $461.7 million in its subsidiary Tingo Mobile’s Nigerian bank accounts.
However, the actual balance in those accounts was less than $50 at the close of fiscal year 2022.
As part of the judgment, Mmobuosi has been barred from serving as a director of a public company, promoting penny stocks, or participating in the trading of any security.
The SEC emphasized the severity of the penalties, stating that Mmobuosi and the companies involved are now permanently enjoined from violating anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
“The judgment against Mmobuosi includes a bar from serving as an officer or director of a public company, a penny stock bar, and a bar from participating in the purchase, sale, offer, or issuance of any security,” the SEC noted in its statement.
The court ordered Mmobuosi, along with Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech Holdings, and Tingo International Holdings, to pay a disgorgement of $156.67 million, with prejudgment interest of $20.19 million.
Additionally, they must cancel all shares of Agri-Fintech stock owned by Tingo International and Mmobuosi.
Further penalties include a civil fine of $31.9 million imposed directly on Mmobuosi, and additional civil penalties of $1.15 million each on Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech, and Tingo International.
Mmobuosi has denied the allegations, asserting on August 24 that the accusations are “baseless and unfounded” and motivated by malice.
