First Lady's Digital Currency Creators Hit with Market Manipulation Scam Lawsuit
The designers behind a digital token introduced by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump are now alleged in federal papers of orchestrating a fraudulent operation.
Coin Release and Value Spike
The $MELANIA coins were made available for just a few cents each on the 19th of January, one day preceding Donald Trump took office.
In addition to the First Lady's token, Donald Trump released his $TRUMP coin just ahead of the inauguration ceremony.
Shortly after launch, the value of the $MELANIA cryptocurrency skyrocketed to nearly $14 per unit.
Sudden Collapse in Value
Nevertheless, the value plummeted almost as quickly, and presently trades for less than 15 cents – less than one percent of its peak price.
At the same time, the $TRUMP coin hit a high of $45.47 and now trades for approximately five seventy-nine.
Court Claims and Investors' Arguments
The claimants claim that the currency's developers executed the scheme knowing that the cryptocurrency's price would crash.
Melania Trump personally is not mentioned in the legal action. The plaintiffs stated they do not think she was responsible, but alleged the crypto companies of exploiting her and other prominent figures as a cover for their criminal operations.
Trading Venue Involvement
According to recently submitted court papers, investors allege executives of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where the First Lady's token was initially traded, of establishing a plan that permitted them to indirectly purchase significant amounts of the cryptocurrency.
Associated individuals then promptly liquidated these cryptocurrencies, earning significant gains while triggering the value to crash, as stated in documents filed in federal court in Manhattan.
Broader Context
The claims regarding the First Lady's coin have been added to court cases concerning various other digital currencies, which started in the month of April.
The Trump family has allegedly generated in excess of a billion dollars in pre-tax earnings from multiple digital currency-linked products and companies over the last year.
