BF Borgers, Trump Media & Technology Group’s independent accounting firm, was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday with widespread fraud impacting more than 1500 filings.
The SEC made no allegation of wrongdoing against Trump Media, which is not mentioned in the charges from the regulator.
The SEC accused BF Borgers of “deliberate and systemic failures,” including “fabricating” audit documentation and falsely representing to clients its work would comply with accounting standards.
The agency described this as “massive” fraud taking place between January 2021 and June 2023.
Trump Media currently lists BF Borgers as its independent auditor. According to filings, Borgers served as Trump Media’s independent registered accounting firm before it went public in March.
Later in March, the audit committee of Trump Media approved the hiring of Borgers as the public company’s accounting firm.
Although Trump Media may be the highest profile client of BF Borgers, the firm had 350 clients during this time period subject to SEC rules, according to the agency.
The SEC review only focused on public companies, meaning BF Borgers’ work for Trump Media when it was private was not included.
Neither Trump Media nor BF Borgers responded to requests for comment.
The SEC said in the press release that to settle the charges, BF Borges agreed to pay a $12 million ($18 million) civil penalty and its owner Benjamin Borgers agreed to pay a $US2 million ($3 million) penalty.
