September 02, (THEWILL) – Former CEO of Tingo Group, Dozy Odogwu Mmobuosi, and three companies affiliated with him, have been ordered by a United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, to pay over $250 million in monetary relief.
The order issued on August 28 by Judge Jesse M. Furman, comes after Mmobuosi and his companies failed to respond to accusations of fraud filed before the court by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
THEWILL had earlier reported that Mmobuosi and the three companies were accused of inflating financial results to defraud investors.
In an August 29 statement, the SEC stated that the court finalised judgements against Mmobuosi and three U.S.-based entities: Tingo Group Inc., Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc., and Tingo International Holdings Inc.
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.”
Although, Mmobuosi temporarily stepped down as Tingo Group’s co-CEO few days after the charge, however, the SEC had suspended trading in Tingo Group’s securities in November 2023.
As part of the judgement, 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 emphasised 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 judgement 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 prejudgement 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.
