Three Charged in Plot to Boost Firm Value Before SPAC Deal (2)

Three men were indicted for allegedly conspiring to fraudulently boost the value of data-insight company Near Intelligence Inc. before it was acquired by a blank check firm in 2022.

Federal prosecutors in New York on Thursday unsealed charges against the company’s founders for allegedly exchanging fake invoices and inflated payments with a mobile-advertising firm, to make Near Intelligence’s revenue appear more than 10 times higher than it actually was.

The company’s chief executive officer, Anil Mathews, and its chief financial officer, Rahul Agarwal, were named in the indictment, along with Kenneth Harlan, the CEO of the mobile-advertising firm, ...