Melania Trump's Meme Coin Creators Facing Pump-and-Dump Scam Legal Action
The designers behind a cryptocurrency launched by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been charged in legal documents of executing a pump-and-dump scheme.
Initial Launch and Value Spike
The $MELANIA tokens were made available for just a few cents each on the 19th of January, just prior to former President Trump assumed the presidency.
Alongside the $MELANIA coin, Donald Trump released his $TRUMP coin just ahead of the swearing-in event.
Shortly after launch, the value of the $MELANIA cryptocurrency surged to over $13 per unit.
Sudden Collapse in Value
Yet, the value subsequently crashed with similar speed, and currently stands at approximately a dime – under one percent of its highest value.
Meanwhile, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency achieved a maximum of $45.47 and presently sells for $5.79.
Legal Allegations and Plaintiffs' Position
The claimants assert that the token's architects planned the scheme conscious that the digital currency's value would plummet.
The First Lady herself is not included in the lawsuit. Claimants indicated they do not believe she was culpable, but accused the blockchain organizations of leveraging her and other familiar faces as window dressing for their criminal operations.
Exchange Platform Role
As per fresh federal filings, claimants accuse officials of the Meteora trading platform, where the First Lady's token was initially traded, of creating a scheme that permitted them to indirectly purchase large quantities of the cryptocurrency.
Associated individuals then promptly liquidated these virtual tokens, securing large returns while leading to the value to crash, per papers submitted in New York federal court.
Wider Proceedings
The charges regarding $MELANIA have been added to legal proceedings concerning multiple additional cryptocurrencies, which began in spring.
The Trump family has according to reports secured in excess of one billion dollars in pre-tax profits from various digital currency-linked products and companies over the previous twelve months.
