Octopus Overlords

Alefroth wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 5:14 pm DJT down to $47.40. Anyone think TFG got out in time?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2023-135

Washington D.C., July 20, 2023 —
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled fraud charges against Digital World Acquisition Corporation (DWAC), a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), for making material misrepresentations in forms filed with the SEC as part of DWAC’s initial public offering and proposed merger with Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. (TMTG). The Commission finds that DWAC misled investors and the SEC by failing to disclose that it had formulated a plan to acquire and was pursuing the acquisition of TMTG prior to DWAC’s IPO.

....

"DWAC failed to disclose its discussions with TMTG and failed to disclose a material conflict of interest of its CEO and Chairman,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “In the context of a SPAC – a ‘blank-check’ entity without business operations – these disclosure failures are particularly problematic because investors focus on factors such as the SPAC’s management team and potential merger targets when making financial decisions.”

The SEC’s order finds that DWAC violated the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. DWAC agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay an $18 million penalty in the event it closes a merger transaction. It also agreed to undertake that, should DWAC file an amended Form S-4, any such Form S-4 will be materially complete and accurate and consistent with the findings in the SEC’s order.

Donald Trump’s social media company Trump Media managed to go public last week only after it had been kept afloat in 2022 by emergency loans provided in part by a Russian-American businessman under scrutiny in a federal insider-trading and money-laundering investigation....

...Trump Media almost did not make it to the merger after regulators opened a securities investigation into the merger in 2021 and caused the company to burn through cash at an extraordinary rate as it waited to get the green light for its stock market debut.

The situation led Trump Media to take emergency loans, including from an entity called ES Family Trust, which opened an account with Paxum Bank, a small bank registered on the Caribbean island of Dominica that is best known for providing financial services to the porn industry.

Through leaked documents, the Guardian has learned that ES Family Trust operated like a shell company for a Russian-American businessman named Anton Postolnikov, who co-owns Paxum Bank and has been a subject of a years-long joint federal criminal investigation by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the Trump Media merger....

Florida venture capitalist Michael Shvartsman and his brother Gerald Shvartsman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to participating in an insider trading scheme linked to the blockbuster deal that brought former President Donald Trump’s social media business public.

Each of the brothers pleaded guilty in New York to one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, according to federal prosecutors.

The two brothers were arrested in June and charged with illegally trading on nonpublic knowledge of a shell company’s secret plan to buy Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of struggling social network Truth Social.

“Michael and Gerald Shvartsman admitted in court that they received confidential, inside information about an upcoming merger between DWAC and Trump Media and used that information to make profitable, but illegal, open-market trades,” Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.

A review of the New York County Supreme Court docket on Wednesday shows that paperwork for former President Donald Trump‘s newly-secured bond of $175 million was temporarily rejected and “returned for correction.”

The cause for the rejection, according to the New York County Supreme Court website, is because the requisite paperwork lacked a current financial statement.

It is also missing the name of his attorney-in-fact. Trump will have a chance to resubmit his request.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 3:07 pm He's fucked if he doesn't get the presidency so nothing is off the table. Further financial/legal jeopardy means nothing.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2024 12:00 am

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 3:07 pm He's fucked if he doesn't get the presidency so nothing is off the table. Further financial/legal jeopardy means nothing.

It also means that he's going to be getting desperate. Desperation + poor impulse control + no brain-mouth filter = good for the rest of us.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2024 12:56 am There are quite a few to pick from. I'm sure he has at least a couple of them.

And then there is the fundamental problem of 'rich from birth', which means living a consequence-free life, surrounded by people who agree with you (because they make money that way.) It's important for the Emperor to know that he's naked.

Through leaked documents, the Guardian has learned that ES Family Trust operated like a shell company for a Russian-American businessman named Anton Postolnikov, who co-owns Paxum Bank and has been a subject of a years-long joint federal criminal investigation by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the Trump Media merger.

The existence of the trust has previously been reported by the Guardian and the Washington Post. However, who controlled the account, how the trust was connected to Paxum Bank, and how the money had been funneled through the trust to Trump Media was unknown.

The new details about the trust are drawn from documents including: Paxum Bank records showing Postolnikov having access to the trust’s account, the papers that created the trust showing as its settlor a lawyer in St Petersburg, Russia, and three years of the trust’s financial transactions.

The concern surrounding the loans to Trump Media is that ES Family Trust may have been used to complete a transaction that Paxum itself could not.

Paxum Bank does not offer loans in the US as it lacks a US banking license and is not regulated by the FDIC. Postolnikov appears to have used the trust to loan money to help save Trump Media – and the Truth Social platform – because his bank itself could not furnish the loan.

Postolnikov, the nephew of Aleksandr Smirnov, an ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has not been charged with a crime. In response to an email to Postolnikov seeking comment, a lawyer in Dominica representing Paxum Bank warned of legal action for reporting the contents of the leaked documents.

There is also no indication that Trump or Trump Media had any idea about the nature of the loans beyond that they were opaque, nor has the company or its executives been accused of wrongdoing. A spokesperson for Trump Media did not respond to a request for comment.

After this story was published, a lawyer representing Trump Media said in a statement: “The Guardian continues to propagate its false narrative that TMTG has these fake connections to Russia. It is a hoax. Litigation will continue on this point and we are confident that The Guardian will ultimately be held responsible for its defamation and this story should be retracted.”

But Postolnikov has been under increasing scrutiny in the criminal investigation into the Trump Media merger. Most recently, he has been listed on search warrant affidavits alongside several associates – one of whom was indicted last month for money laundering on top of earlier insider-trading charges.

After this story was published, a lawyer representing Trump Media said in a statement: “FAKE NEWS! GUARDIAN ONLY LIES! WE'RE SUING!"

LordMortis wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2024 11:47 am Reports this morning were that they are threatening legal action against The Guardian.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2024 11:47 am Reports this morning were that they are threatening legal action against The Guardian.

Kraken wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2024 1:20 am

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2024 12:56 am There are quite a few to pick from. I'm sure he has at least a couple of them.

And then there is the fundamental problem of 'rich from birth', which means living a consequence-free life, surrounded by people who agree with you (because they make money that way.) It's important for the Emperor to know that he's naked.

Narcissism rules them all. Everything, EVERYTHING, is transactional with the only metric being what benefits trump's finances and ego. The man has the perfect storm of mental illnesses.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 3:07 pm He's fucked if he doesn't get the presidency so nothing is off the table. Further financial/legal jeopardy means nothing.

waitingtoconnect wrote: ↑Thu Apr 04, 2024 6:32 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Wed Apr 03, 2024 3:07 pm He's fucked if he doesn't get the presidency so nothing is off the table. Further financial/legal jeopardy means nothing.

Never thought half the country would get behind some lunatic who wants to end democracy to satisfy his own personal demons.

A board member of Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, has been accused of hacking one of the executives who helped bring the firm public as part of a corporate coup attempt, according to a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida....

...“At some point during 2023, months after Cano had left Benessere, Orlando learned that he had been locked out of the Box Account and that Cano had seized total control of the Box Account as the administrator,” the suit alleges. “Cano without authorization accessed files, including, without limitation, files containing all information with regard to all investors as well as all financial and other confidential information not only of ARC II but also of Benessere.” The suit alleged that Cano then gave the “stolen information” to Swider.

Pyperkub wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2024 7:41 pm Those Truth Social lawsuits are going to be interesting, especially as the stock price appears to be continuing its plummet. Now hacking added...

A board member of Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, has been accused of hacking one of the executives who helped bring the firm public as part of a corporate coup attempt, according to a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida....

...“At some point during 2023, months after Cano had left Benessere, Orlando learned that he had been locked out of the Box Account and that Cano had seized total control of the Box Account as the administrator,” the suit alleges. “Cano without authorization accessed files, including, without limitation, files containing all information with regard to all investors as well as all financial and other confidential information not only of ARC II but also of Benessere.” The suit alleged that Cano then gave the “stolen information” to Swider.

by the time the lawsuits are done, the valuation may be more in line with revenues and expenses...

The price of Trump Media shares fell below $30 in early trading Friday morning, which is more than $40 lower than what its shares first sold for when the social media company began public trading on March 26.

Zarathud wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2024 11:03 am Depends on who is in charge of the SEC.

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2024 10:43 am Isn't this what they call "pump & dump"? Is that legal?

Unagi wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 6:05 pm It is all shame on the SEC

Grifman wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2024 1:54 pm

Unagi wrote: ↑Fri Apr 12, 2024 6:05 pm It is all shame on the SEC

Why is there any shame on the SEC? It's not their job to prevent people from investing stupidly. There were and continue to be, publicly produced reports giving the financial situation of Trump's media company. There any number of publicly available reports from financial and investment experts with their opinions on Trump's company. If people choose to ignore those financials statements and the opinions of experts and invest anyway because they worship their orange god, that's not on the SEC by any means.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Sat Apr 13, 2024 1:32 pm The odds are looking pretty good Trump will fire his defense team between now and Monday.