Businessman who tried to buy Sheffield United accused of fraud

A Nigerian businessman who appeared to be closing in on an acquisition of Premier League football club Sheffield United is being sued by the US financial watchdog.

Dozy Mmobuosi is facing claims he inflated his companies’ financial performance by hundreds of millions of dollars to con investors.

Mmobuosi, 45, who is currently at large, has been charged with one count of conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of making false filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said: “Dozy Mmobuosi allegedly orchestrated a massive scheme to inflate Tingo Group’s financial statements and make it appear as though the cellular and agriculture companies he founded were profitable and cash rich companies when, in fact, they were not.

“With this Indictment, Mmobuosi’s alleged deceitful scheme comes to an end.”

The allegations against Mmobuosi are contained in an Indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court and court filings.

They state that from around 2019 to 2023, 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.

He then sold Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods to companies listed in the United States, including Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech Holdings.

As a result, he caused Tingo Group and Agri-Fintech to issue financial statements which falsely portrayed Tingo Mobile and Tingo Foods to be cash-rich, revenue-generating companies when, in fact, they were not.

According to the Indictment, 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.

The SEC says tens of millions of pounds were used to fund his purchase of luxury cars, travel on private jets and for the attempted purchase of Sheffield United, when the club was in the lower Championship league.

Mmobuosi seemed to be close to taking over the club earlier this year, in a deal reportedly due to be worth more than £100m.

The club’s owner, Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, had wanted to sell and agreed a deal with the American Henry Mauriss which fell through last year.

Mmobuosi agreed terms with the prince but the English Football League asked him and the club to answer further questions to enable it to decide whether to sanction the deal.

Talks then broke down between the prince and Mmobuosi, who had previously also shown an interest in investing in Southampton FC and Crystal Palace.