The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged BF Borgers, the independent accounting firm of Trump Media & Technology Group, with "massive fraud" and operating a "sham audit mill". The firm and its owner, Benjamin Borgers, have agreed to pay $14 million in fines and are permanently suspended from practicing as accountants before the SEC.
The SEC alleges that BF Borgers engaged in "deliberate and systemic failures" between January 2021 and June 2023, including fabricating audit documentation and falsely representing to clients that their work would comply with accounting standards. This fraud impacted over 1,500 SEC filings and more than 500 public companies.
Trump Media, which owns Truth Social, is not accused of wrongdoing, but will need to find a new accounting firm. The company has announced plans to do so and is working with new auditing partners.
BF Borgers had 350 clients during this time period, including Trump Media, which was its highest-profile client. However, the SEC review only focused on public companies, and did not include BF Borgers' work for Trump Media when it was private.
The firm's owner, Benjamin Borgers, has a history of disciplinary actions, including repeated actions by regulators in Colorado dating back to 2019. Last year, the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants terminated BF Borgers from its peer review program due to serious deficiencies in its performance.
Trump Media, chaired and majority-owned by former President Donald Trump, has achieved a valuation of over $9 billion on Wall Street, but generates little revenue and Truth Social remains a relatively small player in the social media world.
The SEC's enforcement division director, Gurbir Grewal, stated that "Borgers and his sham audit mill have been permanently shut down". Public companies that hired BF Borgers will need to find new accounting firms, and Trump Media has announced plans to do so.
No comments:
Post a Comment