The 'Licensed US CPA' Who Wasn't: SEC Sues Freelancer Over Alleged Fake Audit of a Public Company

Published Oct. 15, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

Freelance marketplaces make it easy to hire an accountant in minutes. They also make it easy for anyone to type "CPA" into a profile. The Securities and Exchange Commission says one freelancer used that gap to land audit work he was never qualified to do, including an audit for a publicly traded company whose report went to investors.

The SEC has sued Himanshu Jindal (also known as Manish Jindal), 31, of Jaipur, India, in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleging he falsely presented himself as a licensed U.S. certified public accountant and gave a public company a fabricated audit report [1][2].

Important: This is a civil lawsuit. The allegations have not been proven, and Jindal has not been found liable. The SEC's materials do not mention any criminal charges.

How the alleged scheme worked

According to the SEC's complaint, filed Oct. 5, 2026 [2]:

1. The job posting. In August 2023, a consultant for a small public company posted on Upwork seeking a "PCAOB Auditor qualified to conduct 10K Audits for Public Companies in USA." Annual reports filed with the SEC must be audited by a firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).
2. The pitch. Jindal allegedly replied that he was a "Licensed US CPA" and a "Registered Auditor of PCOAB [sic]." His Upwork profile allegedly described him as a "USA CPA" with a "team of CPA(US)."
3. A borrowed name. He allegedly sent an engagement letter on what appeared to be the letterhead of a real New York accounting firm, bearing the forged signature of its principal, with his own phone number in place of the firm's. The SEC says he never had any contact with that firm, whose PCAOB registration had been revoked in April 2020.
4. Payment to his own company. The company paid $2,500, which allegedly went to a bank account in the name of Jindal's company, Helponic Global Private Limited.
5. The fake audit. Jindal allegedly delivered an audit report falsely stating that the firm had audited the financial statements under PCAOB standards and found them fairly presented. The company filed its annual report with that audit report on Oct. 25, 2023.

According to the complaint, the company learned in December 2023 that the New York firm was not PCAOB-registered, amended its filing to say its financial statements were unaudited, and hired a registered auditor. In April 2024 it restated its results to write down substantially all of the assets it had previously reported [2].

It allegedly didn't stop there

The SEC alleges Jindal sent a matching fake engagement letter to a second U.S. company and got another $2,500. From 2023 through 2026 he allegedly kept seeking accounting work through Helponic Global's website, Upwork, and a Wyoming company he formed in May 2024, Helponic Global LLC. As of September 2026, the complaint says, the Helponic Global website still advertised a "CPA Firm" providing "Comprehensive CPA Services." In January and February 2026, he allegedly obtained Upwork jobs seeking a "US accountant," "CPA Required for Tax Advice," and a "US Tax & Accounting Specialist" [2].

The complaint says Jindal has never been licensed as an accountant anywhere, has no educational background in accounting, and has never been affiliated with a licensed or PCAOB-registered accounting firm [2].

The person sued

Himanshu Jindal (a/k/a Manish Jindal), 31, Jaipur, India [1][2]

• Case: SEC v. Himanshu Jindal a/k/a Manish Jindal, No. 1:26-cv-03476 (D.D.C.), filed Oct. 5, 2026; announced Oct. 7, 2026 (Litigation Release No. 26665).
• Claims: Fraud under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5, and aiding and abetting the company's reporting violations.
• Relief sought: Permanent injunctions, a bar on working in accounting, financial reporting or auditing roles for public companies, disgorgement with interest, and a civil penalty. The SEC demanded a jury trial.
• Response: No answer or public statement from Jindal appeared in the materials we reviewed.

The SEC thanked the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Alberta Securities Commission for their help [1].

Why this matters beyond Wall Street

The same kind of profile that allegedly fooled a public company can fool a small business owner, a landlord or a family looking for help with taxes. A fake credential on a freelance site costs nothing to create.

Red flags

• A "CPA" who won't give a full legal name, state of licensure and license number.
• A firm whose website, phone number or payment account doesn't match the firm named on the letterhead.
• Payment requested to a different company name than the one doing the work.
• Unusually low fees for audit or attest work.
• An offshore freelancer claiming a U.S. license or PCAOB registration without proof you can check.

What to do

1. Verify any CPA license through the state board of accountancy or the national CPAverify.org lookup run for state boards.
2. For public company audits, check the PCAOB's public list of registered firms, and confirm directly with the firm, using contact details you find yourself, that it is actually doing the work.
3. Pay the firm, not a person. Be wary of payment instructions to an unrelated entity.
4. Report suspected securities fraud to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr, and report freelance-platform fraud to the platform.

Case status (as of Oct. 15, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 15, 2026	Source
Himanshu Jindal (a/k/a Manish Jindal), 31, Jaipur, India	U.S. District Court, D.D.C. (No. 1:26-cv-03476)	Sued in a civil case by the SEC (filed Oct. 5, 2026); allegations unproven; no criminal charges reported	[1], [2]

A civil complaint contains allegations only. Statuses can change.

Sources

1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 26665, "SEC Charges Resident of India With Fraud for Providing Phony Audit Report to U.S. Issuer," Oct. 7, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26665
2. Complaint, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Himanshu Jindal a/k/a Manish Jindal, No. 1:26-cv-03476 (D.D.C. filed Oct. 5, 2026). https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/opinions/2026/comp26665.pdf

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