Melania Trump's Meme Coin Creators Hit with Pump-and-Dump Fraud Lawsuit
The architects responsible for a cryptocurrency released by US First Lady Melania Trump are now accused in federal papers of orchestrating a fraudulent operation.
Coin Release and Value Spike
The $MELANIA tokens were issued for under a dollar each on the 19th of January, one day preceding Donald Trump was inaugurated.
In addition to the Melania cryptocurrency, the former president introduced his $TRUMP coin shortly prior to the inauguration ceremony.
In a matter of hours, the price of the $MELANIA cryptocurrency skyrocketed to nearly $14 per token.
Rapid Decline in Price
However, the value plummeted just as rapidly, and currently stands at approximately a dime – under 1% of its peak price.
In parallel, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency hit a high of $45.47 and now trades for under six dollars.
Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments
The plaintiffs claim that the coin's creators organized the scheme aware that the cryptocurrency's price would plummet.
The First Lady personally is not named in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs stated they do not consider she was culpable, but accused the blockchain organizations of using her and other well-known personalities as window dressing for their illegal activities.
Exchange Platform Role
According to recently submitted court papers, plaintiffs accuse executives of the Meteora digital asset exchange, where the First Lady's token was originally listed, of establishing a plan that permitted them to discreetly acquire substantial volumes of the cryptocurrency.
Associated individuals then promptly liquidated these virtual tokens, pocketing substantial profits while leading to the market to collapse, according to documents filed in New York federal court.
Broader Context
The charges regarding $MELANIA have been included in court cases regarding several other cryptocurrencies, which commenced in April.
The Trump family has according to reports earned in excess of a billion dollars in pre-tax gains from multiple cryptocurrency-related products and companies over the last year.
