A federal court has issued final judgments against accountant Olayinka Temitope Oyebola and his firm, Olayinka Oyebola & Co. (Chartered Accountants), for their role in assisting a fraud scheme linked to businessman Mmobuosi Odogwu Banye, also known as Dozy Mmobuosi, and three U.S. companies under his control, referred to as the Tingo entities.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered the consent judgments on August 11, 2025, enjoining Oyebola and his firm from violating specific federal securities laws and imposing civil monetary penalties of $100,000 each.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed its complaint on September 30, 2024, alleging that Oyebola and his PCAOB-registered firm failed to act after discovering that Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities had produced multiple fake audit reports bearing Oyebola?s signature. These reports were included in SEC filings as if issued by the firm.

According to the complaint, Oyebola made material misstatements to one of the Tingo entities? auditors at the time. Oyebola and his firm also assisted Mmobuosi in concealing the fabricated nature of the audit reports, leading the auditor, investors, and regulators to rely on the misstatements and false documents.

The SEC stated that this assistance allowed Mmobuosi and the Tingo entities to conduct a multi-year scheme that inflated financial performance metrics and defrauded investors globally.

Oyebola and his firm, without admitting or denying the allegations, consented to the judgments. These permanently enjoin them from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The judgments also permanently enjoin Oyebola from violating Exchange Act Rules 13b2-2(a) and (b).

On August 12, 2025, the SEC issued an order under Rule 102(e) of its Rules of Practice, suspending Oyebola and his firm from appearing or practicing before the Commission as accountants. They may apply for reinstatement after six years.

The SEC?s litigation was handled by David Zetlin-Jones, Elisa Solomon, and Michael DiBattista, supervised by Alexander Vasilescu, all from the New York Regional Office. The ongoing investigation is led by Michael DiBattista, Wesley Wintermyer, Christopher Mele, and Rebecca Reilly, under the supervision of Thomas P. Smith, Jr., also from the New York Regional Office (The Guardian)

Update news