A class action lawsuit has been filed against DEX Meteora and its co-founder Benjamin Chow, alleging fraud related to the controversial meme tokens LIBRA and MELANIA.
The plaintiffs claim that the defendants “borrowed authority” from real personalities or narratives, including the official coin of the U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and the token for Argentina’s revival.
“These individuals and brands were used as props to legitimize what was actually a coordinated liquidity trap,” the documents state.
Public figures, however, should not be held accountable, as they were “merely a front” for the fraudulent scheme orchestrated by Meteora and Kelsier Ventures, led by Hayden Davis.
According to the lawsuit, Kelsier conducted marketing campaigns for the token launches. Chow was “at the center of the business” and assembled a team to execute the alleged scheme.
The victims claim that the defendants launched and sold at least 15 tokens using a similar scheme. The lawsuit mentions five of them — LIBRA, MELANIA, ENRON, TRUST, and M3M3.
In February, Chow stated in an interview that neither he nor Meteora received any tokens or possessed insider information related to the Libra project. In the same month, following a public scandal, he left the project.
Back in May, FT journalists discovered that a small group of traders made $99.6 million by purchasing the meme coin MELANIA before its official announcement.