Alleged $1.3M Scheme: CEO From Melville Accused Of Accounting Fraud, Misleading Investors

A New York resident who was the chief executive officer of digital advertising technology company Kubient fabricated documented and misled investors and auditors, according to federal authorities.

A 48-year-old who was the chief executive officer of a New York-based digital advertising technology company fabricated documented and misled investors and auditors, according to federal authorities.
Photo Credit: *Unsplash/Giorgio Trovato*

Joe Lombardi

09/20/2024 7:00 a.m.

The scheme by Long Island resident Paul Roberts, age 48, of Melville caused Kubient to improperly recognize more than $1.3 million in fraudulent revenue in Kubient’s financial statements at the time of the company's initial public offering, according the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.

Roberts was charged this with one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In announcing the charge, Williams said that Roberts "inflated his company’s revenue and lied about the performance of one of its signature products, an AI-powered tool that was supposed to detect ad fraud in the digital advertising industry.

"To carry out his scheme, Roberts had fake documents created to mislead the independent certified public accountants engaged to audit Kubient’s financial statements."

Roberts founded Kubient, which is headquartered in Manhattan, in 2017.

From around October 2019 until around March 2021, Roberts executed the accounting fraud scheme, according to court filings.

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