First Lady's Meme Coin Architects Facing Market Manipulation Scam Lawsuit
The developers responsible for a digital token released by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump are now alleged in court filings of planning a pump-and-dump scheme.
Initial Launch and Price Surge
The $MELANIA coins were released for a minimal price each on January 19th, one day preceding former President Trump was inaugurated.
Alongside the First Lady's token, Donald Trump released his $TRUMP coin shortly prior to the presidential inauguration.
Shortly after launch, the value of the $MELANIA cryptocurrency surged to nearly $14 per token.
Sudden Collapse in Price
However, the value then collapsed with similar speed, and currently stands at less than 15 cents – less than one percent of its highest value.
Meanwhile, the $TRUMP coin achieved a maximum of over forty-five dollars and currently exchanges for approximately five seventy-nine.
Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments
The plaintiffs assert that the currency's developers organized the operation aware that the cryptocurrency's price would plummet.
Mrs. Trump personally is not included in the court case. Claimants stated they do not believe she was responsible, but alleged the digital currency firms of leveraging her and other familiar faces as a cover for their criminal operations.
Trading Venue Involvement
According to recently submitted court papers, claimants allege officials of the Meteora digital asset exchange, where the First Lady's token was originally listed, of establishing a plan that permitted them to secretly buy significant amounts of the cryptocurrency.
Their partners then quickly resold these virtual tokens, earning significant gains while triggering the market to collapse, per documents filed in New York federal court.
Wider Proceedings
The allegations regarding the First Lady's coin have been included in judicial actions involving multiple additional virtual tokens, which started in the month of April.
Trump-associated entities has allegedly secured in excess of one billion dollars in pre-tax profits from various blockchain-associated ventures and firms over the last year.
