Court filings in New York have accused the designers behind the U.S. first lady, Melania Trump’s crypto project, of orchestrating a fraudulent scheme tied to her digital token, $MELANIA. The token was launched on January 19, 2025, a day before President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
$MELANIA Designers’ Fraudulent Scheme
According to the case filing on Tuesday, in the Southern District of New York, investors allege that executives at Meteora crypto exchange, where $MELANIA tokens were first traded, defrauded them. They were accused of secretly buying large quantities of the coin before hyping it to boost its price.
The company’s associates then allegedly sold off their holdings for large profits, causing the token’s value to crash. The plaintiffs claim that they were deceived by this “pump and dump” operation.
Window Dressing Scheme
Melania Trump herself is not considered culpable, according to court documents. Instead, investors argue that her name and image were used as “window dressing” to lend legitimacy to the scheme and attract buyers.
The alleged $MELANIA tokens, with several other cryptocurrencies, have now been added to legal proceedings. The scheme allegedly caused millions of dollars in losses to investors.
According to WIRED, Max Burwick, a senior managing partner at Burwick Law, the law firm representing the plaintiffs, explained that this case could provide clarity for token launches in the future. He said, “This case could clarify basic expectations for token launches and disclosures in the US. We understand many across the crypto industry and regulatory community are following closely.”
Moreover, the second amendment alleges that the misuse of Melania Trump’s name has corrupted the public trust.
Market Outlook of MELANIA
Driven by the initial hype, $MELANIA surged to $13.73 after its launch. But the price quickly plummeted and is now trading at $0.09652, around 99% lower than its peak. A few days ago, the token hit its all-time low at $0.07554 on October 11.
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