First Lady's Meme Coin Creators Hit with Pump-and-Dump Fraud Lawsuit
The architects responsible for a digital token launched by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been alleged in legal documents of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme.
Initial Launch and Price Surge
The $MELANIA coins were made available for just a few cents each on January 19th, one day preceding Donald Trump assumed the presidency.
Together with the $MELANIA coin, Donald Trump released his personal token just ahead of the presidential inauguration.
In a matter of hours, the market value of the $MELANIA token surged to over $13 per coin.
Sudden Collapse in Price
Yet, the price subsequently crashed with similar speed, and presently trades for less than 15 cents – less than a fraction of its peak price.
In parallel, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency hit a high of over forty-five dollars and presently sells for $5.79.
Court Claims and Investors' Arguments
The plaintiffs assert that the coin's creators executed the maneuver conscious that the cryptocurrency's price would crash.
Melania Trump herself is not named in the court case. Investors indicated they do not believe she was culpable, but alleged the digital currency firms of using her and other prominent figures as a facade for their criminal operations.
Exchange Platform Involvement
As per fresh federal filings, plaintiffs allege executives of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where $MELANIA was initially traded, of creating a plan that permitted them to indirectly purchase large quantities of the cryptocurrency.
Their partners then quickly resold these digital currencies, securing large returns while leading to the value to crash, as stated in documents filed in federal court in Manhattan.
Broader Context
The charges concerning the Melania token have been added to judicial actions regarding multiple additional virtual tokens, which commenced in the month of April.
The Trump family has according to reports earned over one billion dollars in pre-tax profits from multiple blockchain-associated enterprises and organizations over the last year.
