Ben Kesslen
Thu, October 17, 2024
Gerald Shvartsman, hides from photojournalists using an umbrella after exiting Federal Court, Thursday, July 20, 2023, in New York. - Photo: John Minchillo (AP)
A businessman who invested in the company that took former President Donald Trump’s social media company public was sentenced to 22 months in prison on Wednesday for insider trading related to the deal.
Gerald Shvartsman earned at least $4.6 million from trading on private information related to the merger between Digital World Acquisition Corp. and Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns social media platform Truth Social (DJT), according to Bloomberg.
Shvartsman and his brother Michael Shvartsman both copped to securities fraud charges in April. Another person involved in the insider trading, Bruce Garelick, was found guilty by a jury in May. Michael Shvartsman will face sentencing on Thursday, and Garelick will be sentenced on Nov. 7.
Prosecutors asked that Gerald Shvartsman receive at least two years in prison, saying he was guilty of “brazen corruption and greed.”
Shvartsman’s lawyers were hoping their client would get 18 months of probation. They wrote that their client “has lost his reputation and suffered humiliation both personally and professionally. He has lost significant amounts of business through the loss of banking, credit cards, customers and vendors,” according to CNBC. “His wife and children have suffered and there will continue to be huge collateral consequences of his actions, which is a significant punishment in and of itself,” his lawyers continued.
Trump Media (DJT) has had a volatile week. After a weekslong rally that saw shares roughly triple in value, the stock took an 8% nosedive Tuesday afternoon but rallied Wednesday, increasing 13% by the afternoon. Shares of the company behind Truth Social were trading at $30.78 as of Wednesday afternoon.
This see-sawing comes just weeks before the presidential election, which will see Trump face off against Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris at the ballot box.
Trump is a majority shareholder of Trump Media, holding roughly 57% of the company’s stock — and he has said he has no plans to let go of his holdings. The stock’s recent rally has added billions to Trump’s net worth.
–Additional reporting by Rocio Fabbro.
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