The CEO of a Nigerian fintech company has been penalized with a $250 million fine following the characterization of his holdings as a 'fiction'.

A United States federal court has ordered a Nigerian entrepreneur, who attempted to acquire the English football club Sheffield United last year, to pay over $250 million in penalties. Additionally, the court has prohibited the individual from holding a directorial position in any public company.

In the previous year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Dozy Mmobuosi along with three of his firms, including two listed on Nasdaq, with fraud for allegedly exaggerating the financial performance metrics of his companies and their key subsidiaries to deceive global investors.

Judge Jesse M. Furman of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has now issued a final judgment by default against Mmobuosi and his firms, as he did not respond to the civil complaint filed by the SEC last December.

The judge noted that Mmobuosi and his companies, Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech Holdings, and Tingo International Holdings, had “failed to answer, plead, or otherwise defend” themselves in this matter. Consequently, Mmobuosi and his three US-based entities are required to pay fines exceeding $250 million, following the SEC's assertion that his business empire was a “fiction.”

Tingo, a financial technology conglomerate, disclosed having in excess of 9 million clients in Nigeria, predominantly comprising of agriculturalists, and revealed its engagement in the food processing industry.

However, the SEC's complaint from the previous year alleged that the "claimed assets, revenues, expenses, customers, and suppliers" associated with Mmobuosi's Tingo group were largely "fabricated," highlighting the extensive nature of the fraud involved.

Tingo Mobile stated it had cash and cash equivalents amounting to $461.7 million in its Nigerian bank accounts for 2022, yet the SEC asserted that the actual balance was below $50.

Hindenburg, a US-based short-selling firm, raised concerns about the business's legitimacy last year, labeling it an "exceptionally obvious scam," which resulted in a more than 60 percent drop in Tingo's stock prices on the day the report was published.

The charges brought forth last year followed the SEC's suspension of trading for the shares of Nasdaq-listed Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings due to "questions and concerns regarding the adequacy and accuracy of publicly available information."

Mmobuosi gained significant attention last year when he made a bold attempt to acquire Sheffield United, a club based in Yorkshire that was competing in the English Premier League at the time and is currently in the second tier of English football.

Attempts to reach Mmobuosi and his companies for comment were unsuccessful.