Nigerian entrepreneur Dozy Mmobuosi has been hit with a substantial $250 million fine following a fraud case filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The ruling marks a dramatic setback for Mmobuosi, who had recently made headlines with his bid to acquire Sheffield United, a historic English football club.
The decision was handed down by Judge Jesse M. Furman of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The court found that Mmobuosi and his associated businesses—including Nasdaq-listed Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech Holdings, and Tingo International Holdings—failed to respond or defend themselves against the SEC’s civil action filed in December.
The SEC charged Mmobuosi with orchestrating a large-scale fraud by falsifying the financial statements of his companies to deceive international investors. The allegations paint Mmobuosi’s business operations as largely fabricated, with claims of significant assets, revenues, and operational scale in the fintech and agricultural technology sectors being grossly overstated.
Tingo Group, under Mmobuosi’s leadership, had touted a customer base of over nine million Nigerian farmers and a substantial food processing operation. However, the SEC’s investigation revealed that these claims were highly inflated. For instance, Tingo Mobile, a subsidiary of Tingo Group, reported having $461.7 million in cash and cash equivalents for 2022, but the SEC found the actual amount was less than $50.
The fraud came to light after U.S.-based short-seller Hindenburg Research published a report last year labeling Tingo Group as an “exceptionally obvious scam.” This revelation led to a dramatic 60% drop in Tingo Group’s stock price and intensified scrutiny of Mmobuosi’s business practices.
In response to the fraud allegations, the SEC suspended trading in shares of Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings, citing concerns over the accuracy and reliability of the publicly available information.
The court’s ruling not only imposes a significant financial penalty on Mmobuosi but also prohibits him from serving as a director of any public company, effectively ending his corporate career.
