Two Louisiana Companies Which Brokered $155 Million Deal with Trump’s Media Platform has Links With Iran, Russia and China

Two little-known companies from Northern Louisiana struck a multimillion-dollar deal with Truth Social, the social media platform linked to former President Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). The firms—WorldConnect IPTV and JedTec—teamed up to create a joint venture named WorldConnect Technologies, which acted as the intermediary between TMTG and Perception TV CDN. This company was tasked with developing the video streaming infrastructure essential for Truth Social’s growth.

Troubling Connections to Perception TV CDN

An investigation by Fortune uncovered a troubling backdrop surrounding TMTG’s media expansion. By analyzing various business records and interviewing several former associates of Perception TV CDN, concerns emerged regarding the company’s partnerships. Perception’s cofounders, Matjaz “Matt” Vidmar and John Mills, reportedly had a lax oversight policy, allowing them to collaborate with controversial organizations, including state-backed media from China and Russia, Islamist broadcasters, and Iranian companies. Despite these problematic associations, TMTG moved forward with the deal, which raised eyebrows given Perception’s past engagements with entities now under sanctions.

Representing Vidmar and Mills in the U.S. were Louisiana businessmen Jarret Flood and Von Boyett, who manage WorldConnect IPTV—a firm without an online presence. The other half of the joint venture, JedTec, is tied to James E. Davison, a significant Republican donor known for his discretion. According to federal records, Davison has contributed around $2.8 million to Republican causes since 2014 and another $465,000 in the current election cycle.

The Terms of the Agreement

As part of their arrangement, WorldConnect and JedTec secured 2.6 million shares of TMTG, with an additional 2.5 million shares contingent on completing the project, per filings with the SEC. Furthermore, TMTG agreed to pay $17.5 million over three years to acquire Perception’s proprietary source code.

Despite multiple requests for clarification, representatives for WorldConnect and Davison remained unresponsive. TMTG characterized inquiries regarding its associations as politically charged, asserting that the media spread misinformation.

Ambitious Plans for a Content Delivery Network

The primary goal of this partnership was to establish a content delivery network (CDN) for TMTG, designed to circumvent potential service disruptions from major tech companies. TMTG stated in an SEC filing, “The aim is to create an uncancellable service by Big Tech.” The decision to collaborate with Perception, a relatively small firm based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, surprised some observers, with one former employee expressing disbelief at TMTG’s choice to work with such a modest operation.

Perception operates under a complex corporate structure that spans multiple countries. Its holding company, Perception Group, is based in Ontario, Canada, with subsidiaries in London and Slovenia. Documents from the U.K.’s Companies House indicate that Perception TV CDN faced financial difficulties in 2023, reporting net liabilities of £20,000 and just two employees. When pressed about the company’s financial status, Vidmar admitted he was not familiar with the specifics.

Past Partnerships with Controversial Entities

Perception has a history of working with Iranian telecommunications firms, including Baran Telecom and Fanap. The latter has ties to Pasargad Bank, which the U.S. sanctioned in 2020 due to concerns about its support for Iran’s nuclear program. Vidmar claimed that work with these companies ceased once sanctions were imposed and framed their previous engagement in the context of optimism following the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.

While Perception has partnered with reputable clients like Saudi Arabia’s Rotana Media and Sudan’s Zain without sanction violations, Vidmar’s earlier company, Vision247, was involved in broadcasting controversial channels such as Russia’s RT and China’s CCTV, both of which faced regulatory challenges. Notably, Vision247 also worked with Peace TV, banned in the U.K. for promoting hate speech in 2019, although Vidmar and Mills were no longer with the company at that time.