The First Lady of Fraud? Class Action Targets Melania's Crypto Architects
A class action lawsuit has alleged that Melania Trump was used as "window dressing" or a "prop" in an alleged crypto fraud scheme involving the $MELANIA memecoin.
The lawsuit claims that the coin's developers—specifically individuals associated with the Meteora crypto platform and Kelsier Ventures—orchestrated a scheme to exploit Melania Trump's name and brand. This was allegedly done to lend credibility to what the complaint calls a "coordinated liquidity trap."
The plaintiffs are not holding Ms. Trump responsible, arguing she was "merely the window dressing" for a sophisticated scheme. The pattern of the alleged fraud involved the $MELANIA memecoin being launched in January 2025, experiencing a rapid price surge, and then crashing soon after. This is consistent with a "pump-and-dump" operation, where the developers are accused of secretly acquiring and then quickly selling their large token holdings, causing the price to plummet and leaving other investors with losses.
This is not the first time Melania Trump's digital ventures have faced scrutiny; her 2021 NFT collection also sparked controversy when blockchain records suggested that the winning bid for one of her NFTs was linked back to the project's creators.