3 charged in insider trading case related to taking ex-President Donald Trump's media company public

NEW YORK (AP) — Three Florida men were arrested Thursday and charged with illegally making over $22 million by insider trading ahead of the public announcement that a special purpose acquisition corporation was going to take a media company owned by former President Donald Trump public.

The charges were outlined in an indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court.

According to the indictment, the men were invited to invest in Digital World Acquisition Corp. and were provided confidential information that a potential target of DWAC and another acquisition corporation, Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp., was Trump Media & Technology Group.

Authorities said the defendants bought millions of dollars of DWAC securities on the open market before news of the Trump media business was made public.

After the public announcement, the men were accused of dumping their securities for a significant profit, according to the court papers.