Donald Trump Petition for New Fraud Investigation Reaches Milestone

A petition calling on former President Donald Trump to face a new fraud investigation passed a milestone on Wednesday.

The progressive organization Left Action released a petition demanding the investigation related to securities fraud after shares of Trump’s social media platform Truth Social plummeted in its first week of going public after it was revealed the company reported about $50 million in losses, with only about $3 million in profits in 2023.

Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), under the ticker “DJT,” closed its first day of trading 16 percent higher than it started after the company completed its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC) on March 25. Stock prices increased to $58 per share by the end of the day.

But one week later, TMTG disclosed its 2023 losses, resulting in the platform dropping 21 percent to $48.66 per share on Monday.

The petition says officials should probe whether “Trump should be charged with securities fraud for the Truth Social stock crash.”

At about 1:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, the petition reached the 12,000-signature mark, setting up its next goal of 13,000.

“In short, it was a disastrous performance — but the numbers weren’t revealed until after the stock went public, meaning those buying the stock were left in the dark until it was too late — and their investments had collapsed in value,” the petition reads.

“Maybe this is all legit, and maybe it was simply a case of the most dazzlingly fortunate timing one could hope for. Or maybe critical information was withheld in order to keep the true state of the company out of the spotlight.

“No doubt, anyone foolish enough to buy into Trump’s promises was probably someone who would lose their money on some idiotic venture soon enough. But fraud is fraud, and there are laws, and Donald Trump is not above them.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s campaign and Left Action for comment via email.

Securities fraud covers a wide range of illegal activities that involve misrepresenting information that investors use to make decisions on buying stock, according to the FBI. Conviction can carry criminal and civil penalties.

After DJT stock dropped on Monday, it has struggled to rebound. On Tuesday, its share price closed at $51.60, still lower than the end of last week, when shares were $61.96 each. By noon on Wednesday, shares were priced at roughly $50.15.

Trump launched Truth Social in February 2022 after being banned from Facebook and X, then known as Twitter, over his posts about the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. The platform has roughly 500,000 active users.

Trump is already facing four criminal cases, two of which are related to his conduct surrounding the 2020 election, one into classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate and one focused on an alleged hush money payment during the 2016 campaign. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and maintains his innocence.