The Truth social network logo displayed behind a woman holding a smartphone
Former President Donald Trump is now being accused in a lawsuit of intentionally devaluing the media company he co-owns with two associates who met him as contestants on his reality TV show The Apprentice.
The Washington Post reported Thursday on the lawsuit filed in Delaware Chancery Court by United Atlantic Ventures (UAV) — a partnership run by former Apprentice contestants Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss. According to the Post, Litinsky and Moss successfully pitched Trump on a tech and social media company branded with the ex-president's name, and agreed to give him 90 percent of the company's stake while they split the remaining 10 percent between themselves and an attorney. The new company — Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) — owns and operates Trump's far-right Truth Social platform.
TMTG was set to go public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Digital World Acquisition. However, Litinsky and Moss are now alleging in their lawsuit that Trump sought to "drastically dilute" the shares of the company in an "11th hour, pre-merger corporate maneuvering" scheme.
Initially, Trump's stake was 78 million shares, valued at roughly $3.5 billion. UAV's stake in the company amounted to seven million shares valued at approximately $339 million. However, the lawsuit alleges Trump then engaged in a "dilution scheme" to increase the number of total shares to one billion, which they said had "no legitimate business purpose." UAV accused Trump of possibly scheming to distribute the additional shares among himself and his family, while significantly decreasing their stake in the company to less than one percent.
"[UAV was] promised 8.6 percent of this company and sadly its business partners are baselessly trying to renege," Litinsky and Moss' attorney, Christopher J. Clark — who has previously represented Hunter Biden, Elon Musk, and Mark Cuban — told the Post.
"They feel like: We made Truth Social for you. You get 90 percent. But some people just aren’t happy with 90 percent."
UAV has since threatened to block TMTG's merger with the SPAC, which would significantly delay its plans to go public. The SPAC stated in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the latest developments could "significantly impact" the proposed merger and "negatively impact investor confidence and market perception."
Reprinted with permission from Alternet.
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