Downward Angle Symbol A symbol in the form of an angle pointing downwards. Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss (left) and Donald Trump (right). Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage for Vogue via Getty Images, Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
- The co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group accused the company of conspiring to dilute their shares.
- Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, former contestants on “The Apprentice,” introduced the project in 2021.
- The lawsuit could complicate an upcoming shareholder vote on a merger that would take the company public.
Two co-founders of former President Donald Trump's media company have filed a lawsuit alleging that company executives planned to strip them of shares that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars ahead of a possible merger.
Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss, who met Trump while appearing on “The Apprentice,” filed the lawsuit through their partnership, United Atlantic Ventures (UAV).
In the lawsuit, obtained by The Washington Post, they allege that executives, including Trump, used “eleventh-hour corporate maneuvers before the merger” to dilute their shares in the company.
Trump Media's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider outside of regular working hours.
The lawsuit is the latest of three that could complicate an upcoming shareholder vote on a long-pending merger that would take the company public.
The offer would see Trump's company, the parent company of his social media network Truth Social, merge with blank-check company Digital World Acquisition.
Litinsky and Moss first approached Trump in 2021 with a pitch for a Trump-branded media startup after he was banned from Twitter, and they agreed to a deal that gave Trump a 90% stake and UAV, according to The Post 8.6% admitted.
The new lawsuit alleges that Trump and other executives sought to increase the amount of authorized shares from 120 million shares to 1 billion shares, which it says would reduce Litinsky and Moss' stake to less than 1% before the merger in the report.
Trump's shares after the merger would be worth more than $3 billion at Thursday's share price, while UAV's stake would be worth nearly $300 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing obtained by Digital World.
The sum would be a welcome financial boost for the former president, who is facing enormous legal costs of more than $450 million.
The lawsuit also alleges that Trump Media's board planned to give new shares to “Trump and/or his employees and children,” according to The Post.
The media previously reported that Trump called Litinsky in October 2021 and asked if he would give some of his shares to Trump's wife Melania, but he declined.
Litinsky and Moss left Trump Media shortly after UAV founded the company following a dispute with company executives, but retained their shares, according to Digital World's SEC filing.
The two-year-old attempted merger between Trump Media and Digital World Acquisition Corp has faced ongoing delays, in part because of an SEC investigation into possible securities violations.
Ahead of the final shareholder vote on March 22, the merger still faces complications as legal hurdles continue to rise.