Firm behind Trump social accounts sues ex-partner alleging he embezzled millions

Por Will Steakin — POLITICO – TOP Stories

The political consulting firm that runs several of President Donald Trump’s top social media accounts is suing one of its co-founders, accusing him of embezzling and gambling away millions of dollars, including spending company funds on luxury sports cars, designer clothing and first-class travel.

X Strategies, the firm co-founded and led by Alex Bruesewitz, the Gen Z wunderkind behind much of Trump’s social media strategy, filed the lawsuit on Monday against Derek Utley, Bruesewitz’s longtime business partner and the company’s former chair and chief financial officer, according to public documents. The company maintains the Trump War Room and Team Trump accounts on X and helps manage Trump’s TikTok presence — some of the social media accounts with the most significant followings on the right.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in South Florida, accuses Utley of embezzling at least $5 million from X Strategies in a yearslong scheme that the company alleges helped fund an increasingly lavish lifestyle and gambling addiction. The complaint brings claims including civil racketeering, civil theft, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

Reached for comment, Utley told POLITICO: “I dispute these allegations in the complaint and will address them through the legal process. I have no further comment at this time.” Bruesewitz declined to comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bruesewitz and Utley founded X Strategies in 2017, when Bruesewitz was 19 and Utley was 32, according to the lawsuit, which notes that Utley oversaw the company’s finances and had “exclusive access” to its bank accounts and financial records. The lawsuit alleges that beginning in 2021, Utley siphoned off millions of dollars and “purchased luxury sports cars, designer clothing, jewelry, traveled to exclusive locations first-class (with an entourage), and wagered higher amounts at casinos on a more regular basis,” the complaint alleges.

In 2025 alone, the lawsuit alleges, Utley spent 200 days gambling at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in South Florida and used $29 million in company money to win more than $26 million playing slot machines, a net loss of $3 million.

“X Strategies took all the risk—Utley got all the reward,” the complaint says, alleging that Utley kept his winnings while the company absorbed his losses.

The lawsuit also claims he used X Strategies money to make personal investments and, with his then-girlfriend, purchase a Miami fitness studio through a company they controlled.

The alleged scheme began to unravel this year after X Strategies hired a new president, who the lawsuit says noticed the company had millions of dollars less cash on hand than its reported revenues suggested it should. According to the lawsuit, a third party alerted X Strategies that Utley had called from a Las Vegas casino while “highly intoxicated” and pleaded for an urgent wire transfer, claiming the company needed the money to make payroll the next morning.

When confronted, the lawsuit says, Utley initially denied wrongdoing before eventually admitting he had stolen millions of dollars. Utley blamed the theft, according to the complaint, on “his low self-esteem, his desire to have more influence and impress others, and his gambling and alcohol addictions.”

Utley resigned as chair and CFO in April but initially remained at X Strategies as an employee. That arrangement soon unraveled as well.

After later being confronted over poor attendance and job performance, Utley claimed he had been seriously injured six months earlier when an Uber he was riding in was struck by a vehicle traveling more than 60 miles per hour, according to the lawsuit. He sought six months of paid medical leave but said there was no police report because he had called another Uber and left before police arrived.

Utley later submitted purported medical records supporting the leave request. But when X Strategies contacted the medical provider, it was told the documents were fabricated, according to the complaint.

“In reality, Utley had created fake medical records, forged the signature of a practicing medical doctor, and submitted them to X Strategies in an attempt to fraudulently get six (6) months paid medical leave,” the lawsuit alleges. X Strategies later fired him.

The company alleges Utley continued targeting X Strategies after his termination, including by telling clients the firm was having banking problems and directing them to send outstanding payments to him and accuses him of stealing company mail and soliciting clients for a competing business.

Bruesewitz has become one of the more influential outside advisers in Trump’s orbit, helping shape the president’s digital strategy and podcast outreach during the 2024 campaign and continuing to advise figures in Trump world. White House communications director Steven Cheung told POLITICO earlier this year that Bruesewitz’s advice “carries significant weight.”

Fonte: POLITICO – TOP Stories