The SEC is now seeking to ban an oversight board for ‘massive fraud’, after obtaining a $250 million final judgement against the firm.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Olayinka Oyebola and his accounting firm, Olayinka Oyebola & Co. (Chartered Accountants), with complicity in a significant securities fraud scheme orchestrated by businessman Mmobuosi Odogwu Banye, also known as Dozy Mmobuosi, along with three U.S. companies he controlled, referred to as the Tingo entities.
Recently, the SEC secured a final judgment of $250 million against Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities, per a press release.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Oyebola and his firm knowingly neglected to act after discovering that Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities had fabricated several audit reports featuring Oyebola’s signature, which were submitted in SEC filings as if they were legitimately issued by his firm.
Oyebola is accused of making significant misstatements to the auditor of one of the Tingo entities and of helping Mmobuosi hide the fact that the audit reports were fraudulent.
This deception led auditors, investors, and regulators to rely on these false reports to their detriment.
The SEC claims that Oyebola’s actions facilitated Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities in executing a multi-year scheme to artificially inflate their financial metrics and defraud investors globally.
Antonia M. Apps, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office, stated, “As alleged, Oyebola and his firm violated the public trust and failed to fulfill their responsibilities as public accountants by assisting Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities in executing and concealing their fraud.
We will hold accountable those who undermine the integrity of public markets.”
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 federal securities laws related to fraud committed by Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities.
Oyebola is also charged with helping Mmobuosi mislead auditors.
The SEC is seeking civil penalties and permanent injunctive relief, including a ban on Oyebola and his firm from serving as auditors for U.S. public companies or providing significant assistance in preparing SEC financial statements.
The investigation is being conducted by SEC staff members Michael DiBattista, Christopher Mele, Jeremy Brandt, Gerald Gross, and Rebecca Reilly, under the supervision of Tejal D. Shah.
The litigation is led by David Zetlin-Jones and DiBattista, supervised by Alexander Vasilescu, all from the New York Regional Office.
The SEC also acknowledges the assistance of the Israel Securities Authority.
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Also Read: TD Bank Now Gets Caught With Illegal Market Manipulation
Other Regulation News Today
TD Bank now gets caught with illegal market manipulation and has agreed to pay over $20 million under a deal with the SEC.
Investors are calling it ‘pay to play’.
The U.S. broker-dealer unit of Toronto Dominion Bank (TD Securities USA) has agreed to pay more than $20 million to resolve allegations of manipulating the U.S. Treasuries market.
This settlement comes as part of an agreement with U.S. authorities, concluding a lengthy investigation, per Reuters.
In a court filing on Monday, TD Securities admitted to engaging in spoofing practices within the U.S. Treasuries market as part of a deal with the U.S. Justice Department.
The firm also settled related civil charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Additionally, the bank faced charges for not properly supervising its former head of the U.S. Treasuries trading desk.
From April 2018 to May 2019, a former employee manipulated the U.S. Treasury cash securities market by placing orders he had no intention of executing, a tactic known as “spoofing.”
This practice aims to create a misleading impression of market demand.
U.S. regulators have taken a strong stance against spoofing, which is designed to distort market activity.
However, the criminal bank has now been let go off what investors deem as ‘easily’.
Under the terms of TD’s agreement, the Justice Department will refrain from prosecuting the firm as long as it adheres to the three-year agreement and implements significant compliance improvements.
The DOJ decided not to appoint a third-party monitor for compliance, based on the company’s efforts to address the issues.
As part of the settlement, TD Securities will pay a $12.5 million criminal penalty related to civil investigations by the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
This amount is in addition to an approximately $9.5 million criminal penalty outlined in the agreement.
The bank will also compensate victims with $4.7 million and forfeit $1.4 million.
This settlement comes at a time when the Canadian bank is reportedly on the verge of pleading guilty to separate charges concerning its U.S. retail bank’s alleged failure to prevent money laundering linked to Chinese crime groups and illegal fentanyl sales, as reported by the Wall Street Journal last week.
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Also Read: TD Bank Customers Now Say They Cannot Access Their Money
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