US SEC charges audit firm BF Borgers with fraud affecting more than 1,500 filings

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 SEC said on Friday.

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

Reuters could not immediately ascertain which filings or companies had been affected. Borgers and Trump Media did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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.

Borgers served as Trump Media’s auditor since 2022, according to its filings.