First Lady's Digital Currency Architects Hit with Pump-and-Dump Scam Lawsuit
The designers behind a digital token introduced by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been accused in federal papers of planning a market manipulation plot.
Coin Release and Value Spike
The $MELANIA tokens were made available for under a dollar each on the 19th of January, one day preceding former President Trump assumed the presidency.
Alongside the Melania cryptocurrency, Trump himself introduced his personal token just ahead of the inauguration ceremony.
In a matter of hours, the value of the $MELANIA token soared to nearly $14 per token.
Rapid Decline in Value
Yet, the market price then collapsed almost as quickly, and is now less than 15 cents – below 1% of its peak price.
In parallel, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency achieved a maximum of nearly forty-six dollars and currently exchanges for under six dollars.
Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments
The investors allege that the token's architects executed the scheme conscious that the token's worth would decline sharply.
Melania Trump herself is not mentioned in the legal action. Investors stated they do not believe she was at fault, but charged the crypto companies of using her and other familiar faces as a facade for their criminal operations.
Trading Venue Role
In newly filed legal documents, investors allege officials of the Meteora digital asset exchange, where the First Lady's token was initially traded, of creating a scheme that permitted them to secretly buy large quantities of the virtual coin.
Their accomplices then rapidly offloaded these virtual tokens, pocketing substantial profits while leading to the value to crash, according to documents filed in Manhattan federal court.
Broader Context
The charges about the First Lady's coin have been included in court cases involving several other cryptocurrencies, which commenced in April.
The Trump organization has allegedly secured more than one billion dollars in pre-tax earnings from multiple blockchain-associated ventures and firms over the last year.
