“Ben Borgers and his audit firm, BF Borgers, were responsible for one of the largest wholesale failures by gatekeepers in our financial markets,” SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. “They not only put investors and markets at risk by causing public companies to incorporate noncompliant audits and reviews into more than 1,500 filings with the Commission, but also undermined trust and confidence in our markets.”
BF Borgers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shannon Devine, a spokesperson for Trump Media, said in a statement that the company “looks forward to working with new auditing partners in accordance with today’s SEC order.” BF Borgers has been Trump Media’s auditor since 2022, according to a company filing.
The SEC’s settlement marks the latest run-in with regulators for BF Borgers, which previously faced disciplinary action from Colorado officials. Last month, Canada’s audit regulator terminated BF Borgers’s registration in the country.
The SEC’s allegations focused on a period between January 2021 and June 2023, when the agency said more than 350 clients relied on the work of BF Borgers. But the firm, the SEC said, failed to follow standards set by the top US audit watchdog on at least 75 percent of those filings.
The agency also alleged that BF Borgers misled its clients by telling them that its work complied with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s standards and falsified documents to make it appear as if it did.
