1,500 bogus audits. A $14 million fine. A lifetime ban from the SEC. But no jail time? On today's live stream, we led with the breaking news about the charges against BF Borgers, a one-partner audit firm charged with faking hundreds of public company audits – including Trump's SPAC!
According to the charges, BF Borgers and its sole owner, Ben Borgers, orchestrated a staggering fraud spanning from January 2021 to June 2023.
The scheme involved fabricating audit evidence, backdating work papers, and even inventing phantom meetings – all to make it look like they were doing real audits. In reality, the SEC says this "sham audit mill" was churning out bogus reports for over 75% of its public company clients, including the high-profile audit of Trump's media company.
BF Borgers agreed to pay $12 million, while Ben Borgers himself will cough up another $2 million. Both are now permanently banned from practicing before the SEC. But despite defrauding investors on a massive scale, Borgers isn't facing any jail time.
It's a stunning example of how broken our system can be when holding accountants accountable. In a just world, Borgers would be trading in his calculator for a orange jumpsuit. It's a mystery why the Colorado Board of Accountancy hasn't already yanked his CPA license.
You can watch the whole episode and tune into future The Accounting Podcast live streams on our YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/O-2UB0cCD-o?feature=share
