Melania Trump's Meme Coin Creators Hit with Market Manipulation Scam Lawsuit

The designers responsible for a digital token launched by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been charged in court filings of executing a pump-and-dump scheme.

Initial Launch and Value Spike

The $MELANIA cryptocurrency were released for under a dollar each on January 19, one day preceding Donald Trump took office.

In addition to the $MELANIA coin, Donald Trump launched his $TRUMP coin shortly prior to the swearing-in event.

Within hours, the price of the $MELANIA token surged to nearly $14 per coin.

Rapid Decline in Price

However, the value subsequently crashed just as rapidly, and presently trades for less than 15 cents – below one percent of its peak price.

In parallel, the $TRUMP coin achieved a maximum of $45.47 and presently sells for $5.79.

Court Claims and Investors' Arguments

The investors assert that the coin's creators executed the maneuver conscious that the cryptocurrency's price would plummet.

Melania Trump herself is not named in the court case. The plaintiffs stated they do not consider she was at fault, but alleged the blockchain organizations of leveraging her and other familiar faces as a cover for their fraudulent schemes.

Exchange Platform Involvement

As per fresh federal filings, investors charge executives of the Meteora trading platform, where $MELANIA was initially traded, of setting up a operation that enabled them to discreetly acquire large quantities of the cryptocurrency.

Their accomplices then rapidly offloaded these cryptocurrencies, pocketing substantial profits while causing the market to collapse, per papers submitted in New York federal court.

Broader Context

The allegations regarding the Melania token have been added to legal proceedings regarding various other cryptocurrencies, which commenced in April.

The Trump family has allegedly generated in excess of a billion dollars in pre-tax profits from multiple blockchain-associated products and companies over the past 12 months.