Trump Media’s ‘Sham’ Auditing Firm Charged With ‘Massive Fraud’ & Fined $14 Million By SEC

On Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced charges of “massive fraud” against the auditing firm responsible for Trump Media and cited accounting irregularities that impacted over 1,500 SEC filings. 

The firm in question, BF Borgers CPA, and its owner, Benjamin Borgers, have agreed to a permanent suspension from practicing as an accountant before the SEC and to pay a combined total of $14 million in civil penalties. Neither has admitted nor denied the allegations.

SEC described BF Borgers as a “sham audit mill” and asserted that the company and its owner deliberately and systematically failed to conduct audits and quarterly reviews by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) standards. The Lakewood, Colorado-based firm is accused of misleading clients with false claims that its work complied with PCAOB standards, fabricating audit documents to create the illusion of compliance, including false claims in audit reports submitted in over 500 public company SEC filings.

In the period covered by the SEC complaint, BF Borgers served as the auditor for Trump Media, a privately held company in the process of merging with the publicly traded shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC). The merger was finalized in late March 2024, and as a result, Trump Media became a publicly traded entity under the DJT ticker symbol. Three days after the company’s initial public offering, Trump Media’s board approved the retention of BF Borgers as the company’s auditors for 2024.

The SEC clarified that reports filed by companies who employ BF Borgers as their auditors do not necessarily require immediate amendment solely due to the SEC’s order. However, it advises issuers to consider whether any reported deficiencies arising from the BF Borgers engagement must be addressed through amendments. The SEC also highlights the need for these companies to find a new qualified public accountant to fulfill their auditing requirements. 

In response to the SEC’s order, Trump Media’s spokesperson, Shannon Devine, said the company looks forward to collaborating with the new auditing partners.

After the SEC’s announcement, the share price of Trump Media, which owns the Truth Social app, initially experienced a decline of up to 9%. However, it later recovered slightly, ending the day with a 1.7% decline.

Last month, major investors in Trump Media pleaded guilty to insider trading.

Media mogul Barry Diller recently called Trump Media “a complete scam just like everything else he has ever been involved with.”