Owner of 1472FC charged with security fraud in the US

By Rhoda Etuk

Posted on January 3, 2024

Owner and founder of 1472FC Dozy Mmobuosi who is also the founder and CEO of Tingo Group has been charged with three charges in the US; securities fraud, conspiracy, and making false filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The billionaire business mogul may face a 45-year sentence if found guilty of the charges.

According to U.S. prosecutors who shared details of the criminal charges against him, the business mogul is accused of reporting hundreds of millions of dollars in fictitious revenues and assets for three companies he controls.

According to the indictment, the founder and CEO of Tingo Group, a Nasdaq-listed “agri-fintech” startup “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.”

In 2022, Tingo Group reported that it had cash and cash equivalent of $461.7 million for the fiscal year. Investigations showed that its bank accounts held less than $50 in total.

1472FC was founded in October 2023 by the FINTECH billionaire, Dozy Mmobuosi to become a beacon of excellence and inspiration in Nigerian and African football. The new Nigerian professional football club was officially unveiled to the public in Lagos in November 2023 after his initial attempt to purchase Sheffield United collapsed. It was reported that Dozy was close to finalizing a deal to acquire ownership of the English club for around £115 million. However, the takeover fell apart due to an agreement not being reached.

1472 Football Club competes in the second tier, the Nigeria National League (NNL). The club is based in Surulere but plays its home matches in the NNL at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan in Lagos pending the completion of renovation at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere.

The club has since adapted to live in the NNL.