The Securities and Exchange Commission sued the former CEO of the blank check company that merged with Trump Mediaaccusing him of lying about his company’s plans to combine with donald trumpsocial media startup.
Patrick Orlando allegedly lied in public filings when he said his company, Digital World Acquisition Corp., had not contacted any potential merger targets and had no specific merger plans, the commission said. said in the process filed Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., federal court.
“Orlando knew these statements were false,” the SEC civil complaint alleged.
“He personally engaged in numerous protracted discussions” with Trump Media representatives and targeted the company “for months,” the SEC alleged.
The SEC asked the court to force Orlando to give up “all ill-gotten gains” as a result of his alleged violations, along with civil sanctions and a permanent injunction prohibiting him from engaging in such conduct.
Orlando and Trump Media did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comment.
Trump Media and Digital World completed their long-running public merger in March, allowing the company behind the Truth Social platform to trade on the Nasdaq under the stock ticker DJT.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
