Two defendants in Trump Media insider trading case signal possible guilty pleas

• A Florida venture capitalist and his brother moved toward potential guilty pleas in an insider trading case connected to the merger that took Donald Trump's social media company public.
• Michael Shvartsman, the venture capitalist, and his brother, Gerald Shvartsman, previously pleaded not guilty in the criminal case, which relates to trading in 2021 in shares of the shell company that ended up merging with Trump Media last week.
• A change of plea hearing for the brothers was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. A change of plea hearing typically involves a defendant pleading guilty.

A Florida venture capitalist and his brother moved Monday toward potential guilty pleas in an insider trading case connected to the merger that took Donald Trump's social media company public last week.

Michael Shvartsman, the venture capitalist, and his brother, Gerald Shvartsman, both previously pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of insider trading and conspiracy, related to trading shares in of the shell company that merged with Trump Media last week.

A new court filing Monday revealed that a change of plea hearing for the brothers will be held Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. A change of plea hearing typically involves a defendant pleading guilty.

Also Monday, New York defense attorney Alan Futerfas filed a notice with the court that he had joined Michael Shvartsman's legal team.

Futerfas has represented Donald Trump in the past, as well as Trump's adult children and his company, the Trump Organization, in various legal matters.

In a brief phone call with CNBC on Monday, Futerfas said he could not talk about the case and whether Shvartsman would plead guilty, nor why he had been