Donald Trump is in yet another legal battle as he attempts to sue two co-founders of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), claiming they aren't entitled to any stock as the company was improperly set up.
The former US president filed a lawsuit on March 24 in Florida state court arguing that Andy Litinsky and Wes Moss violated an agreement over TMTG's set-up and that they they are undeserving of their 8.6% stake. The pair are both former contestant on reality TV series 'The Apprentice', which Trump co-produced and hosted between 2007 and 2015.
The complaint follows a previous lawsuit by Litinsky and Moss filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery in February. They are trying to prevent the 77-year-old from attempting to massively reduce their combined stake in the company - which created the social media platform Truth Social in 2022 - and is valued at a collective $606million (£482million).
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Trump’s lawsuit claims they made a number of mistakes, “that caused significant damage to TMTG and a decline in the stock price of its merger partner." Additionally, it takes a swipe the two men over their Delaware suit against Trump, arguing it was one of several attempts made by them to block TMTG from going public.
However, Trump achieved his plan by merging with a publicly traded shell company called Digital World Acquisition in March. After debuting on the stock market - under the Trump's initials 'DJT' - it closed around $66 a share on March 27 with prices dropping to $51.60 on Tuesday, according to New York Post.
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The lawsuit added: "This was a phenomenal opportunity for Moss and Litinsky,” and that they were both “riding President Trump’s coattails.” Moss and Litinsky, were credited with first pitching the idea of a Twitter clone (now known as X) platform called Truth Social in early 2021 following Trump's suspension from the social media platform.
Delaware Judge Sam Glasscock III refused to fast-track Litinsky and Moss’s lawsuit after Trump’s lawyers agreed to avoid lessening the value of their shares, Bloomberg reported. However, at a hearing on Monday the pair informed the judge of their plans to put a hold on Trump's Florida lawsuit while they litigate claims he planned to target their stake from the beginning.
Trump is currently unable to sell off any of his 57% shares he has in the company due to a six-month lockup in relation to his ongoing civil fraud case in New York. In February, the former US president was found to have fraudulently inflated his net worth in order to swindle banks and insurers, something he denies any wrongdoing in.