Ex-exec of company that took Trump Media public charged with securities fraud

18 July 2024

Patrick Orlando, former CEO of the shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC), played a key role in making Donald Trump's company Trump Media & Technology Group publicly traded.

The deal, according to Forbes, greatly influenced the former president's net worth — which is now $4.6 billion. But Orlando, according to The Guardian's Hugo Lowell, is now facing securities fraud charges "over the deal."

The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Newsweek's Flynn Nicholls reports, has accused Orlando "of breaking rules by issuing false and misleading statements."

"In its filing with a District of Columbia court on Wednesday, (July 17)," Nicholls explains, "the SEC said Orlando had failed to disclose to investors that DWAC had formed a plan to acquire Trump Media & Technology Corp. The SEC's complaint alleges that Orlando, in his capacity as chief executive and chairman of Digital World, falsely represented that the company had no prior discussions or contacts with potential merger targets."

Nicholls adds, "The SEC alleges that Orlando had in fact engaged in numerous discussions with 'representatives of Trump Media' and had targeted it for a merger for months. The SEC contends that these actions constitute fraudulent conduct and materially false statements in filings made with the Commission."

On July 15 — the opening day of the 2024 Republican National Convention — Forbes reported that shares of Trump Media & Technology Group had "increased by 32 percent."

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