Subsequently, according to the Florida lawsuit, Swider used Orlando’s stolen Mailchimp account credentials and listserv to send an email to ARC II investors in the Truth Social deal on March 5, attacking Orlando’s management of ARC II and DWAC, and He is involved in another lawsuit filed against DWAC last month.
“Mr. Orlando’s leadership has pushed our mutual interests with DWAC directly into the arms of the SEC and DOJ, resulting in lengthy delays and costly investigations,” Swede wrote. “By filing this lawsuit against DWAC, Mr. Orlando is destroying the value that the company and its members may realize upon consummation of the business combination.”
Swede then invited other investors to join him on a series of Zoom calls to “understand our risk exposure as leadership continues to lead us down a path of misinformation, hidden information and self-dealing.” In court documents In the same email quoted, Swider added: “I’m not dissing Patrick. I’m sure he’s a great guy, honest, hard working. Looks out for your best interests. He’s good looking. He’s cool.” I like him. Nothing in this email is intended to be defamatory. He is great as a leader. Patrick – you are awesome!!”
In the Florida lawsuit, Benitsel claims Swede sought to take control of two companies involved in funding the Truth Society Agreement. “In order to gain control of ARC II and complete the acquisition of the entire DWAC enterprise, Swider attempted to obtain confidential information about ARC II and its investors that was maintained by Benessere in a protected electronic storage account at Box.com,” the lawsuit alleges.
Benessere said in the lawsuit that it paid $6,000 to computer forensics experts to investigate the alleged hack and that Swider and Cano did not give up access to their Box accounts.
Cano is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Swider “promised” Cano to serve as DWAC chairman and provide “substantial” compensation after Cano participated in accessing the Orlando Box account. Cano eventually became DWAC president. When asked for comment, Cano referred WIRED to Eric Swider.
In an interview with Wired, Swider denied all allegations in the lawsuit and said public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission contradict many of his claims. Swider said he never hired Cano as his assistant and Orlando voted in favor of the compensation Cano received.
“I just don’t think he’ll ever let go. [of] I actually replaced him,” Swider told Wired. “I don’t know why that pissed him off so much. “
The Benessere Investment Group lawsuit marks a bitter feud between Orlando and Swede, who have been business partners for many years. According to Swede’s LinkedIn profile, he served as a director of Benessere.
In addition to this lawsuit and a separate one filed by Orlando in Delaware, in which ARC II argued it should receive more stock as part of the Truth Social deal, there are several others related to the nascent company related litigation. Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky, early employees of Trump Media, recently sued the company in Delaware court, saying it was diluting their stock. Soon after, Trump Media countersued Moss and Litinsky in a Florida court, accusing them of mismanagement that delayed the deal.
Orlando is currently facing another lawsuit filed by DWAC. The lawsuit, filed in March, claims Orlando intentionally delayed the Truth Social deal and therefore should have his stake reduced.
Benisser Group and Orlando did not respond to requests for comment. Swider, Cano and Renatus Advisors (Swider’s consulting firm is also named as a defendant) have not yet responded to the lawsuit in court.