FBI Unveil Charges Against Odogwu Banye Mmobuosi for Multi-Million Dollar Securities Fraud Scheme

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Smith, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging ODOGWU BANYE MMOBUOSI, a/k/a “Dozy Mmobuosi,” with securities fraud, making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and conspiracy charges. MMOBUOSI is still at large.

Mmobuosi’s alleged fraud is an unseemly display of greed and corruption of our financial markets. Securities schemes like this can be devastating for victim investors. That’s why the FBI is committed to bringing financial fraud to light and perpetrators like Mmobuosi to justice.

James Smith, Assistant Director in Charge, FBI

From at least in or about 2019 through in or about 2023, ODOGWU BANYE MMOBUOSI orchestrated a scheme to enrich himself by falsely representing that Nigerian companies he founded, Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods, were operational, profitable businesses generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue respectively. MMOBUOSI then sold Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods to companies listed in the United States, including Tingo Group (listed on Nasdaq as “TIO”) and Agri-Fintech Holdings (traded in the Over-the-Counter Markets under symbol “TMNA”). As a result, MMOBUOSI caused Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech to issue financial statements that falsely portrayed Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods to be cash-rich, revenue-generating companies when, in fact, they were not. MMOBUOSI then looted Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech by misappropriating cash from those companies and engaged in well-timed sales of their shares at inflated prices, generating millions of dollars of profits from his scheme.

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court and court filings

This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Davis and Kiersten A. Fletcher are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.