WASHINGTON, May 3 (Reuters) - Auditor BF Borgers and its

owner Benjamin Borgers, whose clients include Trump Media ( DJT )

, were charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange

Commission with "massive fraud" that affected more than 1,500

SEC filings, the agency said on Friday.

BF Borgers agreed to pay a $12 million civil penalty, and

Benjamin Borgers agreed to pay $2 million, to settle the SEC's

charges. They also agreed to permanent suspensions from

practicing as accountants on SEC filings, effective immediately.

Borgers did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

Reuters could not immediately ascertain which filings or

companies had been affected. The SEC, however, said a

"significant" number of listed companies will have to switch

accountants in coming days as a result of the enforcement

action.

Borgers served as Trump Media's ( DJT ) auditor from 2022 and

was still its auditor as of last month, according to its

filings.

"Trump Media ( DJT ) looks forward to working with new auditing

partners in accordance with today's SEC order," a spokesperson

for former President Donald Trump's media company wrote in an

email.

Borgers has also acted for fintech and crypto companies,

and many other small issuers, SEC filings show.

According to the SEC, Borgers did not properly prepare and

maintain audit documentation, fabricated audit planning

meetings, and in some cases simply passed off previous audits

for the current audit period.

Of 369 BF Borgers clients whose filings from January 2021

through June 2023 incorporated BF Borgers's audits and reviews,

at least 75% incorporated audits that did not comply with the

SEC's rules.

"Ben Borgers and his audit firm, BF Borgers, were

responsible for one of the largest wholesale failures by

gatekeepers in our financial markets," Gurbir Grewal, Director

of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.