Trump-Linked Firm Says Ex-CFO Gambled $29M on Slots at Hard Rock
Story summary
A former executive at a social media firm with close ties to President Donald Trump spent 200 days gambling at a South Florida Hard Rock casino in a single year, allegedly feeding $29 million of company money into slots. That’s according to a federal lawsuit filed by X Strategies against its co-foun
📌 Key Highlights & Takeaways
- A former executive at a social media firm with close ties to President Donald Trump spent 200 days gambling at a South Florida Hard Rock casino in a single year, allegedly feeding $29 million of company money into slots.
- That’s according to a federal lawsuit filed by X Strategies against its co-foun
A former executive at a social media firm with close ties to President Donald Trump spent 200 days gambling at a South Florida Hard Rock casino in a single year, allegedly feeding $29 million of company money into slots.
That’s according to a federal lawsuit filed by X Strategies against its co-founder and former chairman and CFO, Derek Utley, whom the company accuses of embezzling at least $5 million to fund an extravagant lifestyle and gambling addiction.
X Strategies claims Utley won more than $26 million playing slots but lost $29 million, for a net loss of $3 million.
X Strategies, co-founded by Utley and Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz in 2017, manages prominent Trump social media accounts, including Team Trump and Trump War Room.
Utley has disputed the lawsuit’s allegations and said they would be addressed through the legal process.
The 34-page complaint, filed September 18 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses Utley of exploiting his exclusive control over X Strategies’ finances to siphon off company funds beginning in 2021.
X Strategies claims Utley initially used casinos as a means of obscuring allegedly stolen funds, opening casino accounts where he mixed company money with cash from other sources.
He allegedly withdrew funds directly from X Strategies’ bank accounts at casino ATMs, claiming the withdrawals were expenses for entertaining clients. After gambling, he would deposit remaining funds into his personal casino accounts, according to the complaint.
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Source: Casino.org.
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