First Lady's Meme Coin Creators Facing Pump-and-Dump Scam Lawsuit
The designers behind a digital token released by US First Lady Melania Trump are now alleged in legal documents of orchestrating a market manipulation plot.
Coin Release and Price Surge
The $MELANIA coins were released for under a dollar each on January 19, the day before Donald Trump was inaugurated.
In addition to the $MELANIA coin, Donald Trump launched his own digital currency shortly prior to the swearing-in event.
Within hours, the value of the $MELANIA token surged to nearly $14 per coin.
Rapid Decline in Price
Yet, the price plummeted almost as quickly, and presently trades for less than 15 cents – less than a fraction of its maximum worth.
At the same time, the $TRUMP coin achieved a maximum of nearly forty-six dollars and now trades for under six dollars.
Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments
The claimants assert that the currency's developers executed the maneuver knowing that the token's worth would plummet.
Melania Trump herself is not mentioned in the lawsuit. Claimants clarified they do not think she was culpable, but alleged the digital currency firms of using her and other well-known personalities as a facade for their criminal operations.
Exchange Platform Role
In newly filed federal filings, claimants accuse officials of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where the First Lady's token was originally listed, of setting up a scheme that allowed them to indirectly purchase significant amounts of the cryptocurrency.
Their accomplices then rapidly offloaded these digital currencies, earning significant gains while causing the market to collapse, according to papers submitted in Manhattan federal court.
Wider Proceedings
The allegations regarding $MELANIA have been incorporated into court cases regarding various other cryptocurrencies, which began in the month of April.
Trump-associated entities has according to reports generated in excess of a billion dollars in pre-tax gains from multiple blockchain-associated enterprises and organizations over the past 12 months.
