Melania Trump's Meme Coin Architects Hit with Pump-and-Dump Fraud Legal Action
The developers responsible for a cryptocurrency released by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump are now alleged in legal documents of planning a pump-and-dump scheme.
Initial Launch and Price Surge
The $MELANIA coins were issued for just a few cents each on January 19th, one day preceding former President Trump assumed the presidency.
In addition to the First Lady's token, the former president released his $TRUMP coin shortly prior to the swearing-in event.
Shortly after launch, the market value of the $MELANIA coin skyrocketed to over $13 per coin.
Rapid Decline in Value
Nevertheless, the price plummeted with similar speed, and currently stands at only about 10 cents – less than one percent of its maximum worth.
At the same time, the $TRUMP token achieved a maximum of nearly forty-six dollars and presently sells for $5.79.
Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments
The investors claim that the token's architects executed the operation conscious that the cryptocurrency's price would plummet.
Melania Trump herself is not named in the court case. The plaintiffs indicated they do not consider she was responsible, but charged the crypto companies of exploiting her and other well-known personalities as a facade for their fraudulent schemes.
Exchange Platform Involvement
According to recently submitted federal filings, plaintiffs accuse executives of the Meteora digital asset exchange, where the First Lady's token was originally listed, of setting up a plan that enabled them to discreetly acquire significant amounts of the cryptocurrency.
Their partners then rapidly offloaded these virtual tokens, earning significant gains while leading to the price to plummet, according to records entered in New York federal court.
Broader Context
The claims regarding the Melania token have been added to judicial actions regarding various other cryptocurrencies, which commenced in April.
The Trump family has according to reports generated over a billion dollars in pre-tax earnings from multiple digital currency-linked products and companies over the last year.
