First Lady's Digital Currency Architects Hit with Pump-and-Dump Scam Lawsuit
The developers responsible for a cryptocurrency launched by US First Lady Melania Trump are now alleged in court filings of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme.
Initial Launch and Value Spike
The $MELANIA cryptocurrency were released for under a dollar each on the 19th of January, one day preceding Donald Trump was inaugurated.
In addition to the Melania cryptocurrency, Donald Trump introduced his personal token just ahead of the swearing-in event.
Within hours, the price of the $MELANIA cryptocurrency soared to over $13 per token.
Sudden Collapse in Value
Nevertheless, the price subsequently crashed almost as quickly, and currently stands at less than 15 cents – less than a fraction of its highest value.
Meanwhile, the $TRUMP coin achieved a maximum of nearly forty-six dollars and presently sells for approximately five seventy-nine.
Court Claims and Plaintiffs' Position
The plaintiffs claim that the coin's creators planned the operation conscious that the token's worth would decline sharply.
The First Lady herself is not mentioned in the legal action. The plaintiffs clarified they do not think she was at fault, but charged the blockchain organizations of exploiting her and other well-known personalities as a facade for their fraudulent schemes.
Trading Venue Role
As per fresh court papers, claimants charge officials of the Meteora trading platform, where $MELANIA was initially traded, of setting up a plan that enabled them to secretly buy significant amounts of the cryptocurrency.
Associated individuals then quickly resold these digital currencies, pocketing substantial profits while triggering the market to collapse, according to papers submitted in New York federal court.
Broader Context
The charges regarding $MELANIA have been added to legal proceedings concerning several other virtual tokens, which began in April.
The Trump family has according to reports generated over one billion dollars in pre-tax profits from multiple digital currency-linked ventures and firms over the last year.
