Lagos 1443 Football Club owner, Mmobuosi, charged with fraud in the US
United States Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against Mmobuosi Odogwu Banye, also known as Dozy Mmobuosi, founder of Tingo Group, a financial technology company, for securities fraud in New York, after accusing him of orchestrating a massive scheme to inflate the company’s finances.
They claim the Nigerian-born financial guru artificially boosted financial statements to make Tingo and its subsidiaries appear cash-rich, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming that Tingo reported a cash balance of $461.7 million in March when legitimate bank records showed less than $50.
Mmobuosi, who allegedly directed an employee to give false bank statements to Nasdaq to list Tingo Mobile shares on the exchange in 2020 and then generated millions of dollars in profit by selling shares at inflated prices, the US claimed, reportedly claimed hundreds of millions of dollars in fictitious revenues and assets for three companies he controlled, part of the allegation, says.
Charged with conspiracy, securities fraud, and making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, prosecutors say the three charges carry a maximum sentence of 45 years.
“Mmobuosi orchestrated a scheme to enrich himself by falsely representing that Nigerian companies he founded, Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods, were operational, profitable businesses generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, respectively. Mmobuosi propped up his businesses in interviews over the years and, in 2021, told one publication that Tingo had 12 million users and a valuation of $6.3 billion.
“He told several publications about plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange by 2021. On December 18, the SEC announced an investigation into the company, suspending trading in Tingo’s shares, and two days later, Mmobuosi temporarily stepped down,” the allegations added.
