Melania Trump's Digital Currency Creators Facing Pump-and-Dump Scam Legal Action
The designers behind a digital token launched by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been charged in court filings of orchestrating a fraudulent operation.
Initial Launch and Price Surge
The $MELANIA coins were made available for just a few cents each on the 19th of January, one day preceding Donald Trump was inaugurated.
Alongside the $MELANIA coin, Trump himself introduced his own digital currency a few hours before the swearing-in event.
Within hours, the market value of the $MELANIA cryptocurrency surged to $13.73 per unit.
Rapid Decline in Value
Nevertheless, the price then collapsed with similar speed, and presently trades for only about 10 cents – under one percent of its peak price.
In parallel, the $TRUMP coin achieved a maximum of over forty-five dollars and presently sells for under six dollars.
Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments
The claimants claim that the coin's creators executed the maneuver conscious that the digital currency's value would decline sharply.
Melania Trump personally is not named in the legal action. Investors indicated they do not believe she was responsible, but accused the digital currency firms of leveraging her and other well-known personalities as a cover for their criminal operations.
Trading Venue Involvement
In newly filed federal filings, investors allege executives of the Meteora trading platform, where Melania's coin was originally listed, of setting up a operation that enabled them to indirectly purchase large quantities of the virtual coin.
Their accomplices then promptly liquidated these cryptocurrencies, pocketing substantial profits while leading to the market to collapse, according to documents filed in New York federal court.
Broader Context
The allegations concerning the First Lady's coin have been included in legal proceedings involving several other cryptocurrencies, which started in spring.
The Trump family has according to reports earned over $1 billion in pre-tax gains from various blockchain-associated products and companies over the last year.
