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The developers responsible for a cryptocurrency released by First Lady of the United States Melania Trump have been charged in legal documents of planning a market manipulation plot.

Initial Launch and Price Surge

The $MELANIA coins were issued for a minimal price each on the 19th of January, one day preceding former President Trump assumed the presidency.

Alongside the $MELANIA coin, Trump himself launched his $TRUMP coin a few hours before the swearing-in event.

In a matter of hours, the value of the $MELANIA token soared to nearly $14 per unit.

Sudden Collapse in Price

Nevertheless, the price then collapsed almost as quickly, and presently trades for less than 15 cents – below one percent of its peak price.

In parallel, the $TRUMP coin reached a peak of over forty-five dollars and now trades for $5.79.

Court Claims and Plaintiffs' Position

The claimants assert that the coin's creators planned the maneuver knowing that the cryptocurrency's price would crash.

Melania Trump herself is not mentioned in the court case. Claimants stated they do not believe she was at fault, but accused the crypto companies of exploiting her and other familiar faces as a facade for their illegal activities.

Trading Venue Involvement

According to recently submitted court papers, investors accuse officials of the Meteora digital asset exchange, where $MELANIA was originally listed, of setting up a plan that allowed them to secretly buy large quantities of the digital token.

Their partners then rapidly offloaded these cryptocurrencies, pocketing substantial profits while leading to the market to collapse, per records entered in Manhattan federal court.

Wider Proceedings

The claims about $MELANIA have been included in legal proceedings regarding several other virtual tokens, which started in the month of April.

The Trump organization has reportedly generated more than a billion dollars in pre-tax gains from multiple digital currency-linked enterprises and organizations over the last year.