Trump Media Company, following the recommendation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), announced on Monday (May 6) that the company has hired a new auditing firm.
The auditing firm previously employed by Trump Media Company, BF Borgers CPA PC, was accused by the SEC of engaging in large-scale fraudulent activities.
The SEC accused BF Borgers CPA of failing to conduct actual audits on its clients before signing more than 1,500 regulatory documents for public companies. The regulatory agency did not specify whether Trump Media Company was one of the client companies allegedly involved with the accounting firm.
Trump Media Company’s “Truth Social” terminated its relationship with BF Borgers CPA and hired Semple, Marchal & Cooper LLP last Saturday (May 4).
As part of an agreement with regulatory agencies, BF Borgers and its owners agreed to a permanent suspension of practice. This injunction requires all public companies using BF Borgers to seek new auditing firms.
“The decision to change independent registered public accounting firms was made upon the recommendation and approval of the company’s audit committee,” Trump Media announced in its 8-K filing on Monday regarding its new auditing firm.
Former President Donald Trump owns 65% of Trump Media Company’s stock, which trades under the ticker symbol DJT, representing his initials.
Semple, Marchal & Cooper is located in Phoenix. The company’s website states that after forty years of operation, it has become “an outstanding and respected registered public accounting firm.”
The SEC referred to BF Borgers as a “false auditing factory,” accusing the Lakewood, Colorado-based company and its owner Benjamin Borgers of “intentionally” and “systematically” failing to adhere to public accounting standards in auditing and quarterly reviews of clients.
The SEC stated that BF Borgers was involved in reviewing documents from over 500 public companies, encompassing more than 1,500 reports from early 2021 to mid-2023.
BF Borgers and its owners agreed to a total fine of $14 million.
The misconduct by BF Borgers did not involve the public trading of Trump Media. Trump Media’s stock went public on March 26, 2024.
The SEC noted that reports submitted by companies using BF Borgers “do not necessarily need to be amended solely because of” the Commission’s cease-and-desist order.
“However, issuers should consider whether they need to amend their filings to address any reporting deficiencies arising from BF Borgers’ involvement,” the SEC stated.