"The designers of a cryptocurrency launched by the US first lady, Melania Trump, in January were accused in court filings on Tuesday of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme. The $MELANIA coins were released for just a few cents each on 19 January, the day before Donald Trump was inaugurated as US president. In addition to $MELANIA, Donald Trump launched $TRUMP a few hours before his inauguration. Within hours, the $MELANIA coin's price soared to $13.73. However, it then collapsed almost as quickly, and is now only worth about 10 cents less than 1% of its peak price."
"The plaintiffs say the coin's creators organized the operation knowing that the digital currency's value would plummet. Melania Trump herself is not named in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs said they did not believe she was culpable, but accused the crypto companies of using her and other familiar faces as window dressing for their crimes. In newly filed court papers, investors accuse the executives of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange platform, on which $MELANIA was initially traded, of setting up a scheme that allowed them to indirectly purchase large quantities of the virtual coin."
Designers of $MELANIA and $TRUMP are accused of orchestrating a pump-and-dump that launched coins for cents on 19 January, just before the presidential inauguration. $MELANIA spiked to $13.73 and $TRUMP to $45.47 within hours, then collapsed to about 10 cents and $5.79 respectively. Plaintiffs allege creators and Meteora exchange executives arranged transactions enabling insiders to amass and then quickly resell large quantities, pocketing profits while causing price crashes. Melania Trump is not named and is said not to be believed culpable. Investors filed fraud claims in Manhattan federal court.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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