The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Nigerian auditor Olayinka Oyebola and his accounting firm, Olayinka Oyebola & Co., for their alleged involvement in a major securities fraud scheme orchestrated by businessman Dozy Mmobuosi, and three U.S.-based companies collectively referred to as the Tingo entities.
This comes on the heels of a $250 million judgment that the SEC recently obtained against Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities for their fraudulent activities.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Oyebola and his firm played a critical role in enabling Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities to deceive investors over several years by falsifying audit reports.
The SEC said the fraudulent audit reports, which bore Oyebola’s signature, were submitted to the SEC as if they had been legitimately issued by his firm.
Allegations against Oyebola and his firm
The SEC said Oyebola allegedly made misleading statements to the auditor of one of the Tingo entities and concealed the fact that the audit reports were fake. It added that this deception allowed Mmobuosi and his companies to inflate their financial metrics and mislead investors globally.
Antonia M. Apps, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, condemned Oyebola’s actions, stating:
“As alleged, Oyebola and his firm violated the public trust and abdicated their responsibilities as public company accountants and auditors by helping Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities effectuate and conceal their fraud.
“We will not hesitate to hold gatekeepers to the public markets accountable when they facilitate fiction rather than truth.”
The charges
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Oyebola and his firm with aiding and abetting violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws by Mmobuosi and the three Tingo entities.
- The SEC also charged Oyebola with aiding and abetting Mmobuosi’s violation of lying to auditors.
- The complaint seeks civil penalties as well as permanent injunctive relief, including an order permanently barring Oyebola and his firm from acting as auditors or accountants for U.S. public companies or otherwise providing substantial assistance in the preparation of financial statements filed with the SEC.
- The SEC’s ongoing investigation is being conducted by Michael DiBattista, Christopher Mele, Jeremy Brandt, Gerald Gross, and Rebecca Reilly under the supervision of Tejal D. Shah.
- It is being litigated by David Zetlin-Jones and Mr. DiBattista under the supervision of Alexander Vasilescu, all of the New York Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Israel Securities Authority.
Backstory
Last month, a US federal court fined the Nigerian entrepreneur Dozy Mmobuosi the sum of $250 million following a fraud case brought against him and three of his companies by the SEC.
Judge Jesse M. Furman of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York delivered the final judgment against Mmobuosi and his companies, including 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 in response to the civil complaint filed by the SEC last December.
- The SEC’s complaint accused Mmobuosi of orchestrating a large-scale fraud by inflating the financial performance metrics of his companies to mislead investors worldwide. The commission alleged that Mmobuosi’s business empire, which claimed to operate in the fintech and agricultural technology sectors, was essentially a “fiction.”
- The complaint further stated that the purported assets, revenues, expenses, customers, and suppliers of Mmobuosi’s companies were “virtually entirely fabricated.”
- Tingo Group, a fintech entity under Mmobuosi’s control, had claimed a customer base exceeding nine million Nigerian farmers and touted a robust food processing operation.
- However, the SEC’s investigation revealed that these claims were grossly exaggerated.