The auditing firm representing Trump Media, along with its owner, faced charges of “massive fraud” from the Securities and Exchange Commission, as announced on Friday, May 3. The allegations pertain to their work, which impacted over 1,500 SEC filings, according to the federal regulator.
BF Borgers CPA, the auditing firm, and its proprietor, Benjamin Borgers, have consented to a permanent suspension from practicing as accountants before the SEC. Additionally, they agreed to a combined payment of $14 million in civil penalties, though they did not admit or deny the accusations, stated the SEC.
Describing BF Borgers as a “sham audit mill,” the agency highlighted deliberate and systemic failures to adhere to standards set by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). These failures were evident in audits and reviews integrated into more than 1,500 SEC filings between January 2021 and June 2023, as per a press release.
During this period, BF Borgers served as the auditor for Trump Media, which, at the time, was privately held and progressing towards a planned merger with the publicly traded shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. The merger between Trump Media and DWAC was finalized in late March 2024, resulting in Trump Media being publicly traded under the DJT ticker.
The SEC accused BF Borgers, based in Lakewood, Colorado, and its owner of falsely assuring clients that their work complied with PCAOB standards. They allegedly fabricated audit documents to create the impression of compliance and falsely stated in audit reports included in over 500 public company SEC filings that their audits met PCAOB standards, as per the release.
Gurbir Grewal, Director of the SEC Enforcement Division, condemned Ben Borgers and BF Borgers for what he described as one of the most significant failures by gatekeepers in financial markets. He emphasized that their fraudulent conduct not only jeopardized investors and markets by incorporating non-compliant audits and reviews into over 1,500 filings with the Commission but also eroded trust and confidence in the markets.
