US SEC charges auditor BF Borgers, whose clients include Trump Media, with fraud

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Auditor BF Borgers and its owner Benjamin Borgers, whose clients include Trump Media , were charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with “massive fraud” that affected more than 1,500 SEC filings, the agency said on Friday.

BF Borgers agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty, and Benjamin Borgers agreed to pay $2 million, to settle the SEC's charges. They also agreed to permanent suspensions from practicing as accountants on SEC filings, effective immediately.

Borgers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters could not immediately ascertain which filings or companies had been affected. The SEC, however, said a "significant" number of listed companies will have to switch accountants in coming days as a result of the enforcement action.

Borgers served as Trump Media's auditor from 2022 and was still its auditor as of last month, according to its filings.

"Trump Media looks forward to working with new auditing partners in accordance with today's SEC order," a spokesperson for former President Donald Trump's media company wrote in an email.

Borgers has also acted for fintech and crypto companies, and many other small issuers, SEC filings show.

According to the SEC, Borgers did not properly prepare and maintain audit documentation, fabricated audit planning meetings, and in some cases simply passed off previous audits for the current audit period.

Of 369 BF Borgers clients whose filings from January 2021 through June 2023 incorporated BF Borgers's audits and reviews, at least 75% incorporated audits that did not comply with the SEC's rules.

“Ben Borgers and his audit firm, BF Borgers, were responsible for one of the largest wholesale failures by gatekeepers in our financial markets,” Gurbir Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Michelle Price; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)