Tingo Inc (TMNA)

[Stock_Barber]

Olayinka Temitope Oyebola and Olayinka Oyebola & Co. (Chartered Accountants)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26143 / September 30, 2024
Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 4531 / September 30, 2024
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Olayinka Temitope Oyebola and Olayinka Oyebola & Co. (Chartered Accountants), No. 24-civ-7363 (S.D.N.Y. filed Sept. 30, 2024)
SEC Charges Olayinka Oyebola and His Accounting Firm With Aiding and Abetting Massive Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Olayinka Oyebola and his Public Company Accounting Oversight Board-registered accounting firm, Olayinka Oyebola & Co. (Chartered Accountants), with aiding and abetting a massive securities fraud perpetrated by Mmobuosi Odogwu Banye, also known as Dozy Mmobuosi, and three related U.S. companies that Mmobuosi controlled (the Tingo entities). The SEC recently obtained a $250 million final judgment against Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Oyebola and his firm deliberately failed to take action upon learning that businessman Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities created multiple fake audit reports bearing Oyebola’s signature and included them in SEC filings as though they were issued by Oyebola’s firm. Oyebola allegedly made material misstatements to the then-auditor of one of the Tingo entities, and Oyebola and the firm helped Mmobuosi conceal that the audit reports were fake, resulting in the auditor, investors, and regulators relying upon the misstatements and fake audit reports to their detriment. According to the SEC’s complaint, Oyebola and his firm’s assistance enabled Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities to carry out a multi-year scheme to inflate financial performance metrics and defraud investors worldwide.

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 Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Rule 10b-5 thereunder, by Mmobuosi and the three Tingo entities. The SEC also charged Oyebola with aiding and abetting Mmobuosi’s violation of the lying to auditors provisions of Exchange Act Rules 13b2-2(a) and (b). 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.

[shajandr]

SEC news:https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26086

[Stock_Barber]

Hindenburg Target Tingo Mobile Found Liable For "Brazen" Fraud By Federal Judge After Ignoring SEC Lawsuit
by Tyler Durden
Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 - 10:40 AM

Nigerian "agri-fintech" company Tingo Mobile - targeted by short seller Hindenburg Research barely a year ago, in June 2023 - has been found liable by a federal judge after failing to even respond to the SEC's lawsuit against them, accusing them of demonstrable financial fraud.

US District Judge Jesse Furman called the fraud "brazen" in court on Wednesday, ruling in favor of the regulators, who followed claims by Hindenburg Research that Tingo was booking "billions" in fraudulent transactions.

“The magnitude of the fraud is quite something,” the judge said, according to a Bloomberg writeup.

Back in December we noted that the SEC charged Tingo with "massive fraud", claiming that almost every aspect of the company - including its partners and its financials - was fabricated.

The SEC announced that it obtained a temporary asset freeze, restraining order, and other emergency relief against the company's founder Dozy Mmobuosi for running an "alleged multi-year scheme to inflate the financial performance metrics of his companies and key operating subsidiaries to defraud investors worldwide".

"Mmobuosi spearheaded a scheme to fabricate financial statements and other documents of the three entities, Tingo Group Inc., Agri-Fintech Holdings Inc., and Tingo International Holdings Inc. and their Nigerian operating subsidiaries," the SEC wrote in a release.



Among the more egregious examples of fraud the SEC alleged was the company claiming to have $461.7 million in cash when it had only $50 in its bank accounts:

Tingo Group’s fiscal year 2022 Form 10-K filed in March 2023 reported a cash and cash equivalent balance of $461.7 million in its subsidiary Tingo Mobile’s Nigerian bank accounts. In reality, those same bank accounts allegedly had a combined balance of less than $50 as of the end of fiscal year 2022.

"Defendants also fabricated the customer relationships that formed the basis of their purported businesses," the SEC alleged. "Mmobuosi and the entities he controls have fraudulently obtained hundreds of millions in money or property through these schemes."

Antonia M. Apps, Regional Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, commented in December: “As alleged, Mmobuosi spearheaded a brazen scheme using phony records and fictitious entities to make the Tingo companies he controlled appear highly profitable, so that he could hoodwink investors and reap massive benefits at their expense. We filed this emergency action to expose Mmobuosi’s fraud and hold him accountable, while protecting investors from further harm.”

Hindenburg's Nathan Anderson noted that Deloitte Israel gave Tingo a clean audit opinion for 2022 and was seeking to work with the company for 2023. He called it an "astonishing audit failure" for a Big 4 firm.

"We think Tingo is a worthless and brazen fraud that should serve as a humiliating embarrassment for all involved," Hindenburg wrote at the end of their June report. Tingo responded shortly thereafter that the Hindenburg report was full of "misleading and libellous content".

🤣

[Stock_Barber]

How did that work out?

Very observant, UN meetings, Concordia Summit, London Galas, yes they are promoting a company to UN and world policy makers, getting shareholders from rich elites, and superstars such as Akon, Naomi Cambell, Cleverly promoting how they will use the new merged entity to fight hunger, and secure more food supply and distribution.

But sure buyer beware when they are literally speaking to some of the richest people on earth that could be buying shares of this when it hits Nasdaq.

[Stock_Barber]

No one wants to pump this anymore?

☠️

[Stock_Barber]

That you sir!

🖖

[QaB2i]

Kudos Mr Barber.

[Stock_Barber]

Time to shut the lights off here...

💡

[JACKLUKE]

Positive news, I guess.

[Anonymousfinance]

Tingo Group to file Form 25 to voluntarily delist its common stock from Nasdaq.

Ask yourself or research where else did this company invest to move the money away from Tingo. What US based companies. The answers are out there. The money is around. Google is good for searching.

[Stock_Barber]

Tingo's books, audited by Deloitte, listed a cash balance of a staggering $462 million. However, subsequent investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed that the company only had $50 in cash, according to a Forbes' report.

Just a rounding error, I'm sure...

☠️

[bar1080]

"Deloitte Under Scrutiny After Missing Tingo's Alleged $462-Million Fraud"

"The story unfolded in June 2023, when short-selling firm Hindenburg Research released a report titled 'Fake Farmers, Phones, and Financials – The Nigerian Empire That Isn't', accusing the agri-fintech group of companies of fabricating financial statements. Hindenburg claimed Tingo's inflated financials "could have been spotted by any semi-conscious finance undergrad with severe vision loss",

Read more at: https://www.ndtvprofit.com/business/deloitte-under-scrutiny-after-missing-tingos-alleged-462-million-fraud

[shajandr]

[shajandr]

[snow]

4gh Thanks for your nice comments regarding my posts on SPZI. My agenda generally is to try to find the truth since I regard the truth as a useful basis for investment decisions.

[janice shell]

Where Tingo--either Tingo Group (TIO) or Tingo Inc (TMNA)--is concerned, there are no "green flags".

None at all. It is a total fraud. A made-up company.

[Stock_Barber]

They should have saved that article for April 1st!

[JACKLUKE]

https://thebossnewspapers.com/2024/01/21/why-tingo-must-continue-to-thrive-dozy-mmobuosi/

[4gh1rx]

re: fair minded approach


Tingo Inc. (TIO)

Good, well considered and even-handed evaluation of the pro's and cons
of evaluating an OTC or a big board ticker. Your example of seeing the red
flags and green flags and weighing both (as opposed to seeing just one side) is most instructive for calculating risk which, as you
pointed out, is crucial necessary as risk constitutes an intrinsic factor.
Your messages on sp*zi are good reading. Worth bearing in mind.
The caustic response of dr-draino was pompous,haughty, and unnecessarity shrill.
_________________________________________________
Let's hope Tingo, Inc shows some vigor.

[Stock_Barber]

I was thinking criminally charged as well!

This was obvious fraud, and they were complicit!

[snow]

I think Deloitte should be sued.

[Stock_Barber]

Deloitte has continued to remain silent throughout Tingo's collapse. We believe they owe the investing public an explanation and hope they are eventually forced to address their unfathomable failure to uphold basic auditing standards.

They better not skate on this! They were extremely negligent... at best!

[TheFinalCD]

Update: Tingo just reported that Deloitte resigned last week, on January 16th.

Far too little, far too late. https://t.co/iS2JdLrQwk $TIO https://t.co/L87rhPUVXE

— Nate Anderson (@NateHindenburg) January 22, 2024

[shajandr]

jrf30 gott skinned in this Nigerian scam. And skinned in his other pennyturds.

[snow]

Stock barber Impressive! I forget if you warned us when I bought my first shares in this stock last year at somewhat more than 30 cents.It was then a very tight market and my purhases lifted the pps by tens of percent as far as I remember.

[Stock_Barber]

I posted this 11/4/2022:

At some point, all shareholders have to ask themselves... Have I been taken by a phony Nigerian scam?

Imagine the money that could have been saved if traders did ANY DD rather than attack those that do!

💲💲💲💲💲💲💲💲

[lucky, mydog]

i brought very little to this table. credit goes to mr. barber.

[snow]

lucky My impression over a considerable period of time is that you have a factual apporoach. Some socalled bashers are useful for those of us who are not just intrested in making money but in the important facts.

[lucky, mydog]

No, I tell the TRUTH and support it with FACTS!

you don't and you didn't.

[shajandr]

The dumb pennyscam rubes never admit that they are gullible and stupid. Butt they are.

It is always hilarious when they bitch at the posters who were right and, if they had listened to them, would have caused then to avoid further losses in the obvious pennyscam.

[shajandr]

🤡🤡🤡

[stocksbelow1]

As I thought, you don't trade the OTC, you just bash the OTC. Maybe you didn't read that I retired in my 40's and I'm in my 60's. I know the OTC very well. Many are scams like TMNA, many are not scams. It only takes 1-2 per year if that.

[Stock_Barber]

The best OTC picks are no picks at all. The OTC has a net outflow of money. It is not the place to be.

Maybe try the lottery?

[stocksbelow1]

I'm waiting on your OTC picks!!! I think ill be waiting a long time!!! Enlighten me wise one!

[stocksbelow1]

On this Name I wasn’t! Congrats to you! Now I’m going to go on and trade the markets including the OTC. Maybe next time I will listen to you! Probably not. Until then I will do my own DD and live a happy life! I wish the same for you!!! And btw, send me your OTC picks, I’ll happily do some DD and buy plenty if I believe!!! All the best!!!

[Stock_Barber]

Well, you certainly aren't very good at DD... a few examples I posted over a year ago:

During the 1990s, Chris Cleverly presented on Channel 4[5] and contributed to other television channels, radio and newspapers.[6][7]

In 2005, with British designer Ozwald Boateng, Cleverly co-founded the Made In Africa Foundation,[8] a Uganda-based organisation established to provide first-stage funding and business development of infrastructure projects. Cleverly was co-architect of a $1.5bn “Africa50” fund in conjunction with the African Development Bank.[9][10]

Later described by The Times as a someone "who ... has skipped from venture to venture with little apparent success",[2] Cleverly joined AIM-listed African Potash as its chairman in 2015. The company was developing the Lac Dinga potash project in the Republic of Congo.[11][12] However, the business collapsed in value and was delisted from AIM. Renamed Block Commodities it then focused on blockchain technology in 2018.[2][13] In 2019, Block Commodities was licensed to grow and import medicinal cannabis, striking deals to buy land in Sierra Leone;[14] however, the deals collapsed, Cleverly stepped down as chair, and the firms shares were suspended.[2]

In 2019, Cleverly, then a partner at private equity firm PAI Capital, led a bid to buy West Ham United Football Club.[2][4]

Cleverly is the president of Tingo, Inc, an agri-fintech company, and of Tingo International Holdings, an investment company.[15]

https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=170084509

CEO Dozy Mmobuosi - Tingo Cofounder: Arraigned on an 8-count charge of conspiracy and issuing bad checks!

And his partner (Chionuma) jumped bail and vanished!

https://tingoinc.com/management/

https://abiodunborisade.com/efcc-arraigns-mmobuosi-odogwu-banye-a-k-a-dozy-both-oil-marketers-of-issuance-of-n31m-did-cheque-way-back-2018/

https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=170084713

[stocksbelow1]

Because I've read your posting history until I finally got bored of reading the same negative Nelly posts.

Why do you think that? I own several! But they are REAL companies, not P&Ds!

Not one fact did I ever see you post on the TMNA board, only conjecture, and opinion. You turned out right! congrats!!! I lost money, and that part is fine, and its on me! I never ever saw anyone lying on this board, or pumping. If a person likes a stock, they say so, if they don't, they say so. It's an opinion board.

No, I tell the TRUTH and support it with FACTS!

So if I understand you... lying pumpers are good, honest fact-based critics are bad?

[Stock_Barber]

You don't own a OTC Name

Why do you think that? I own several! But they are REAL companies, not P&Ds!

you spew negative Nancy

No, I tell the TRUTH and support it with FACTS!

So if I understand you... lying pumpers are good, honest fact-based critics are bad?

Wow...

🐑

[stocksbelow1]

I don't blame anyone for my losses, never have! I take responsibility for my decisions. Thought I made that clear. I do ok. Live a happy life, play golf 4-5 days a week, have a boat parked at my dock in my backyard! And I don't care what other people buy/sell in the OTC. I post on boards I buy, you spew negative Nancy on almost all of your posts that I reviewed. Why is that, out of curiosity? You don't own a OTC Name, but yet, you spend plenty of time spewing negativity on the boards you post on? GLTY ma'am!

[Stock_Barber]

I trade the OTC at times. What difference does that make?

Facts are facts... the messenger is irrelevant!

What you are really saying is that you blame the messenger that told the truth for your losses?

[stocksbelow1]

I never said it was wise! I lost, and that's fine. Win some lose some. I can't stand you keyboard warriors that don't trade in the OTC to tell me anything, let alone that I've made a bad choice! I've been retired since my 40's, and now in my 60's, and i trade the OTC on the daily!!! You?

[Stock_Barber]

But one thing I also learned along the way, I will never ever listen to you negative nellies in stocks that I own

Yes, listening to pumpers and burying your head in the sand and losing 100% of your investment is clearly the wise decision!

[stocksbelow1]

Looks like I lost a few thousand!!! It's ok, that's part of trading high risk penny stocks! I believed financials and the CEO, and PR's, over a few guys that have nothing better to do than spend countless hours on message boards spouting their beliefs. If I'd have been smarter I'd have sold earlier and not lost it all. Lesson learned. But one thing I also learned along the way, I will never ever listen to you negative nellies in stocks that I own. I will wish you good luck however, if you ever decide to actually buy an OTC Name!!!

[Stock_Barber]

Yup... and I picked it up over a year earlier...

Look at the players that promoted it... were they in on it, or just HORRIBLE traders incapable of basic DD?

🦨

[TheFinalCD]

2ND HAND CLOTHES SELLER LL

[shajandr]

jrf30 would invest in that imaginary airport. Even now

[TheFinalCD]

if you believe everything you see & read


this guy has an airline to sell you

[Stock_Barber]

Dont worry......... TMNA getting uplisted sooner

Should anyone worry yet?

🦨

[Stock_Barber]

Yet very few here did seem to be aware...

[TheFinalCD]

answer 12:46

let that be a lesson is confidence

especially in overseas companies chinese, nigerian etc

some people on this board do better DD than D&T (smh)
shame on D&T