Then, according to the Florida lawsuit, Swider used Orlando’s stolen Mailchimp account information and listserv to send an email to ARC II investors in the Truth Social deal on March 5, criticizing Orlando’s management of ARC II and DWAC as well attacking his involvement in a separate lawsuit filed against DWAC the previous month.
“Mr. Orlando’s leadership has steered our shared interests with DWAC directly into the arms of the SEC and DOJ, resulting in lengthy delays and costly investigations,” Swider wrote. “By filing this lawsuit against DWAC, Mr. Orlando is destroying the value that could be achieved by the company and its members through the completion of the business combination.”
Swider then invited other investors to join him on a series of Zoom calls to “understand our risk exposure based on leadership that continues to lead us down a path of misinformation, hidden information and self-trading.” In the same Email quoted in court documents, Swider added: “I am not disparaging Patrick. I am sure he is a great person, honest and hardworking. Look out for your best interest. He looks good. He is cool. I like him. Nothing in this email is intended to be defamatory. He was a great leader. Patrick – you’re amazing!!”
In the Florida lawsuit, Benessere alleges that Swider attempted to take control of the two companies that helped finance the Truth Social Deal. “And in order to gain control of ARC II and complete his acquisition of the entire DWAC company, Swider attempted to obtain confidential information about ARC II and its investors that was stored by Benessere in a protected electronic storage account at Box.com,” said the lawsuit claims.
Benessere says in its lawsuit that it paid $6,000 to a computer forensics expert to investigate the alleged hack and that Swider and Cano did not give up access to the Box account.
Cano is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Swider “promised” Cano the role of DWAC president and “excessive” compensation after Cano participated in accessing Orlando’s boxing account. Cano eventually became president of DWAC. When reached for comment, Cano referred WIRED to Eric Swider.
In an interview with WIRED, Swider denied all allegations in the lawsuit and said publicly available documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission contradict many of his claims. Swider said that he never hired Cano as his assistant and that Orlando voted for the compensation Cano received.
“I just think he never let go [of] the fact that I replaced him,” Swider tells WIRED. “I don’t know why it offends him so much.”
The Benessere Investment Group lawsuit marks a seemingly bitter dispute between Orlando and Swider, who were business partners for years. According to his LinkedIn profile, Swider was formerly a director at Benessere.
In addition to this lawsuit and Orlando’s separate lawsuit in Delaware, in which ARC II argues that the company should receive more stock as part of the Truth Social deal, there are several other lawsuits related to the emerging company. Early Trump Media employees Wess Moss and Andy Litinsky recently sued the company in a Delaware court, saying the company was diluting its stock. Shortly thereafter, Trump Media filed a countersuit against Moss and Litinsky in a Florida court, saying their poor management delayed the deal.
Orlando is also currently facing another lawsuit from DWAC. That lawsuit, filed in March, alleges that Orlando intentionally delayed the deal with Truth Social and therefore its shares must be reduced.
Benessere Group and Orlando did not respond to a request for comment. Swider, Cano and Renatus Advisors, Swider’s consulting firm, which is also named as a defendant, have not yet responded to the lawsuit in court.