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Will Wilkerson, co-founder of Trump’s media company, filed an SEC whistleblower complaint in August.
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Wilkerson detailed several allegations about the company to The Washington Post.
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Another co-founder believed Trump was retaliating against him, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post.
The co-founder of Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind Truth Social, said former President Donald Trump had pressured and demanded another executive to transfer some of his stake to Melania Trump. said he retaliated when he was denied. washington post report.
Will Wilkerson, who submitted File a Whistleblower Complaint About the Company with the SEC In August, it made the allegations in an article published by the outlet on Saturday. described.
Trump owned a 90% stake in the company when it was founded, according to the SEC complaint. But Wilkerson told the Post that co-founder Andy Lichinski was with Trump when he got a call in October 2021. at that time, The company recently reached a merger agreement. That would cause the value of that stock to skyrocket. Wilkerson said the former president asked Lichinski to transfer some of his stock to Melania Trump.
Wilkerson told the Post that Lichinski objected and explained that the gift would be a tax bill he couldn’t pay.”Trump didn’t care,” he said.
Former ‘The Apprentice’ contestant Lichinski was removed from the company’s board after five months What Wilkerson believed was retaliation. Lichinski believed he had been retaliated against, according to his March emails obtained by The Washington Post.
According to a screenshot of an email released by The Washington Post, Lichinsky said, “President Trump has repeatedly demanded that his shares in TMTG be transferred to Melania Trump over the past two months.” As I said, I won that stock, and ‘gifting’ stock to Melania Trump is taxable and I can’t afford to pay it.”
Lichinski also said Trump threatened to “blown up the company” if Trump’s demands were not met, according to email screenshots, and Trump now has “retaliated” against him. He added that he believes there is, and will be looking for a lawyer.
A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to an insider’s request for comment.Litinsky did not immediately respond to an Insider’s request for comment sent through his consulting and production company, ZideLitinsky Media. .
In a statement provided to Insider, a representative for the Trump Media & Technology Group condemned the Post’s reporting and touted the success of Truth Social.
“As chairman of TMTG, President Trump has hired Devin Nunes as CEO, created a culture of compliance, and built a world-class team to lead Truth Social,” the statement said, adding that the platform will Released on Apple and Google app storesattracted millions of users and “performed multiple feature updates.”
“Ignoring these achievements, the Washington Post deliberately published articles flooded with false, defamatory statements and other fabricated psychodramas,” the statement continued. The statement does not directly comment on any specific allegations.
Wilkerson, who served as senior vice president of operations, said he was fired after speaking with the Post on Thursday, the outlet reported.A lawyer for Wilkerson did not immediately respond to an insider’s request for comment. But he told The Washington Post that he was cooperating. SEC and New York Prosecutors Investigate Trump Media.
Read the original article at business insider