A coalition of investment firms have filed a lawsuit alleging that a Truth Social board member “hacked” and “stole” sensitive files from a special purpose acquisition company.According to CNBC, the federal lawsuit—filed late last month in a Florida federal court—accuses Truth Social board member Eric Swider of plotting a 2023 “coup” to replace Patrick Orlando as the C.E.O. of Digital World Acquisition Corp. It was filed on behalf of firms Benessere Investment Group and ARC Global Investments II.Swider had, for instance, “misled” Digital World’s directors and business partners by publishing a series of “false and misleading representations of what was occurring” within DWAC. He also purportedly “offered outsized compensation to the other directors he enlisted to collude with him in exchange for supporting the coup d’etat.”Lawyers for both firms allege that Sider solicited assistance from co-defendant Alexander Cano, the former president of DWAC, and promising to reinstate his position in exchange for access to protected information about ARC II.As part of the alleged conspiracy, Swider—and others—allegedly “stole access” to the company’s computer systems as well as a Box.com electronic storage account, then proceeded to “used the stolen information to attack” Orlando in “an audacious scheme to seize control of and enlarge [Swider and Cano’s] holdings.”“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 lawsuit 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.”

Scales of Justice. Image via Flickr/user:mikecogh. (CCA-BY-2.0).

On March 5, Swider allegedly used the “stolen” information to draft an email to ARC II investors involved in an ongoing acquisition of Truth Social. In it, he insisted that Orlando had mismanaged both ARC II and DWAC investments, and guided DWAC “into the arms of the SEC” by filing a separate lawsuit.Swider also accused Orlando of a “failure to maintain [his] fiduciary responsibility” to ARC II, among other alleged acts of misconduct.“Mr. Orlando’s leadership has guided our common interests with DWAC directly into the arms of the SEC, the DOJ, lengthy delays and costly investigations,” Swider wrote. “By filing this lawsuit against DWAC, Mr. Orlando is destroying the value that may be realized upon consummation of the business combination by the Company and its members.”Swider’s email also—somewhat comically—attempted to pre-empt potential claims of defamation by lavishing praise on Orlando’s personality and physical appearance.“Patrick [Orlando] has threatened me with pending litigation for speaking out to fellow membership holders so I want to be clear about this,” Swider wrote. “I am not disparaging Patrick.”“I am sure he is an amazing Human Being,” he said. “Honest. hard working [sic]. Looking out for your best interest. He is good looking. He is cool. I like him. Nothing in this email is meant to be defamatory. He has been a great leader. Patrick-you are amazing!”However, Orlando—who had been excluded from the email’s list of recipients—later learned of the message because “Swider failed to remove Orlando’s wife from the mailing list.”The lawsuit is requesting remedies including compensation and a court injunction “prohibiting the use of the stolen information and to stop the Defendants [from] hacking” other sensitive files.

Sources

Trump Media director accused of ‘hacking’ files in attempted corporate ‘coup’: LawsuitThe Hacking Lawsuit Looming Over Truth Social