The co-founder and former CFO of a firm said to run social media accounts on behalf of President Donald Trump faces accusations of embezzling at least $5 million from the company.

Derek Utley, who co-founded X Strategies with Alex Bruesewitz in 2017 and served as the company’s CFO, is named as one of the defendants in a case brought by the company. The suit was filed Sept. 18 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

In the complaint, X Strategies alleged that Utley embezzled millions of dollars from the company between 2021 and 2026. The document said Utley “exploited his exclusive control over X Strategies’ finances and the position of trust he held as a senior officer of X Strategies to siphon off funds for his own personal benefit.” The complaint goes on to say that he disguised personal expenditures as business expenses, and laundered and gambled stolen funds at casinos.

X Strategies’ suit said Utley once spent 200 days at a single casino, where he won $26 million but lost $29 million. When the company found the alleged embezzlement, Utley then “engaged in a campaign of deceit and dishonesty, resulting in his departure.”

“On his way out, Utley engaged in a calculated campaign to sabotage X Strategies’ client relationships, steal customers, divert funds from X Strategies, and disparage X Strategies to current and prospective clients,” the complaint said.

The company’s complaint said an ongoing forensic audit of its finances showed Utley embezzled at least $5 million. The aim of the suit is to recover the stolen funds and hold Utley and his co-conspirators “accountable, and to prevent him from further harm to X Strategies.” The suit names Utley and Stark Defense Industries as defendants, along with Utley’s then-girlfriend Anna Weisheimer and a business called Anna Dicenzo Fitness, which she partially owned.

Politico reported that X Strategies runs some of Trump’s top social media accounts, including “Team Trump” and “Trump War Room” on the social media platform X. The firm also reportedly helps manage Trump’s presence on TikTok, according to Politico. At a conference hosted by The Jerusalem Post in June, Bruesewitz said he handles “very powerful accounts like Team Trump on TikTok and Instagram.” The complaint itself doesn’t mention the U.S. president or his accounts, and refers to the company only as a “prominent social media strategy and consulting firm” based in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The suit said Utley is now identifying himself as president of Tower Strategy, which the complaint described as both a former client and now a competitor of X Strategies. Messages sent to Utley’s email addresses at both X Strategies and Tower Strategy were not immediately responded to on Wednesday. However, Utley told Politico in a statement that he disputes the allegations and “will address them through the legal process.”

“I have no further comment at this time,” he told the news outlet.

According to the complaint, Utley and Bruesewitz were 32 and 19 years old, respectively, when they founded X Strategies nearly a decade ago. Utley owned 50% of the company through another company called Stark Defense Industries, while Bruesewitz owned the other half through an LLC.

The complaint paints diverging portraits of the two men over the years. Bruesewitz, the suit said, “maintained strict sobriety” and “resisted temptation to significantly elevate his lifestyle” as he became an adviser to world leaders. Utley, meanwhile, “began purchasing luxury sports cars, designer clothes and renting opulent condominiums,” the complaint said.

“He also began taking lavish vacations and attending high-profile events with an entourage, funded by money he embezzled from X Strategies,” the complaint said.

Per the document, Utley was eventually terminated from the company.