The accountant hired to audit former President Donald Trump’s social media company appeared to have great difficulty spelling his name, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
Ben F Borgers, founder and managing partner of accounting firm BF Borgers, spelled his name 14 different ways in regulatory filings, the Financial Times reported, citing data reviewed by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
Some variations, like Ben F Brogers and Ben F orgers, appeared to be minor spelling errors. But others, like Blake F Borgers and Ben F Vonesh, had completely different names.
Representatives for BF Borgers and Trump Media & Technology Group did not immediately respond to a BI request for comment sent outside of normal business hours.
These spelling issues are not the first time Borgers’ work has come under scrutiny.
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said it identified multiple deficiencies in every audit it received from accounting firm Borgers over the past two years, Bloomberg reported April 8.
In November, Borgers’ firm was also removed from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ peer review program.
According to the organization, BF Borgers was “so deficient in its performance that education and corrective action are inadequate.”
Trump Media & Technology Group hired BF Borgers as auditor in January 2022, after its previous auditor, WithumSmith+Brown, resigned just months after his appointment.
WithumSmith+Brown resigned because the company no longer wanted to be associated with Trump and his company, the Financial Times reported April 15, citing people familiar with the matter.
The news about Borgers’ spotty record comes as Trump Media’s stock price continues to fall since its late March debut.
Trump Media’s shares initially soared during its IPO, only to crash nearly 40% in a matter of weeks. The roller coaster ride that Trump Media’s stock prices have taken has also caused Trump’s net worth to fluctuate.
At one point, Trump’s net worth increased by more than $4 billion as stocks rebounded. But Trump’s gains were quickly erased when the stock went into freefall, removing him from Forbes’ list of the world’s 500 richest people.
Although Trump would not have been able to sell his shares due to a six-month lock-up period, the windfall would have shored up his ailing finances. The former president’s legal debts have grown since he left office.
On April 1, Trump posted $175 million bail for his civil fraud case in New York. He also owes E. Jean Carroll, a writer who a jury ruled last year had sexually abused, $83.3 million in damages for defamation.
But Trump’s legal problems don’t end there.
On April 15, Trump appeared in a Manhattan court for his first criminal trial, where he was accused of falsifying his business records to cover up a sex scandal with porn star Stormy Daniels. The trial is ongoing.
Trump was also indicted in three other criminal cases, including two federal cases related to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and another over accusations that he hoarded classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after having left office. No final trial dates have yet been set for the three cases.
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