Melania Trump memecoin team ‘weaponized fame to disarm diligence’ in sprawling crypto conspiracy, alleges court filing
Melania Trump’s memecoin was just one of 15 fraudulent tokens launched as part of an elaborate scheme to trick crypto investors. That’s according to a new court filing in a putative class action lawsuit, which accuses the defendants of obtaining the first lady’s endorsement of her cryptocurrency as part of a scheme that “weaponized fame to disarm diligence.”
The legal filing, submitted on Tuesday, is the newest update in a case that dates back to May, when the firm Burwick Law filed a complaint on behalf of investors against a host of entities that sold memecoins, or cryptocurrencies that have no inherent utility and whose value is tied to the popularity of a joke or person.
The lawsuit targets Benjamin Chow, cofounder of crypto market-making protocol Meteora, and Hayden Davis, who cofounded crypto venture capital and marketing firm Kelsier Labs. The first lady is not named as a defendant.
The duo—along with Davis’s father and brother—allegedly orchestrated a scheme where they launched memecoins, bought the tokens shortly after launch, and then sold them at peak value to unwitting investors, who were left holding cryptocurrencies that suddenly crashed in price. The $MELANIA coin reached a market capitalization of more than $1.6 billion on Jan. 20 before tanking to now around $86 million.
“Defendants portrayed each offering as a fair and decentralized product,” alleged the lawsuit. “Yet, in reality, this was a pre-engineered pump-and-dump operation designed to extract money from investors.”
The proposed amended complaint is the most in-depth narrative yet of a memecoin conspiracy that took the crypto industry by storm earlier this year and implicated not only Melania Trump but also Javier Milei, the president of Argentina. The filing also cites new evidence, including an anonymous whistleblower and previously unpublished text messages from Hayden Davis.
Lawyers for Benjamin Chow, Kelsier Labs, and Hayden Davis did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Attorneys for Burwick Law did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the White House also did not respond.
Melania to Milei
Melania Trump promoted the $MELANIA coin on X in January. “The Official Melania Meme is live!” she posted.
The suit alleges that Chow has been associated with deceptive practices dating back to 2021. His crypto venture Mercurial Finance cost investors millions, and he “is no stranger to insider manipulation,” alleged Burwick Law.
In February, one month after Melania promoted her token, Argentine president Javier Milei promoted his own memecoin named $LIBRA—only to see its value plummet right after its launch. A judge soon after investigated him for fraud.
The first lady and Milei are not the first politicians to endorse their own memecoins. Days before his inauguration in January, President Donald Trump launched his own token. The memecoin peaked at a nearly $9 billion market capitalization but is down to roughly $1.2 billion, as of Thursday.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com