SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged an accounting firm hired just 37 days ago by Trump Media and Technology Group with “massive fraud” — but not for any work it did for former media company President Donald Trump.
The SEC accused the accounting firm BF Borgers and its owner, Benjamin F. Borgers, of “intentional and systematic errors” in more than 1,500 audits. The charges include failing to comply with accounting rules, fabricating documentation to cover up the deficiencies, and falsely stating in audit reports that the work met audit standards.
To settle the SEC charge, BF Borgers agreed to pay a $12 million fine, while the owner agreed to pay a $2 million fine, the SEC said. Benjamin Borgers did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
BF Borgers and Benjamin Borgers also agreed to permanent suspensions, effective immediately, which prevent them from handling SEC-related matters as accountants.
Trump Media appointed BF Borgers as accountant on March 28, according to the company’s most recent annual report. The company announced at the time that BF Borgers had also settled its audits before going public by merging with a cash-rich shell company called Digital World Acquisition Corp.
The company had previously gone through at least two other accountants: one who resigned in July 2023 and another who was terminated by the board in March, just as BF Borgers was rehired.
In a statement, Trump Media said it “looks forward to working with new audit partners in accordance with the current SEC order.”
The SEC found that BF Borgers’ shortcuts included copying audit documentation from a previous year, changing relevant dates and then passing it off as current documentation. In addition to falsely documenting work that was never actually done, that bogus documentation detailed planning meetings with clients that never took place and “falsely represented” that both Benjamin Borgers and another reviewer had approved the audit work.
“Ben Borgers and his accounting firm, BF Borgers, were responsible for one of the biggest failures of gatekeepers in our financial markets,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division. “Thanks to the meticulous work of the SEC staff, Borgers and its sham audit factory have been permanently closed.”
