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The developers behind a cryptocurrency launched by US First Lady Melania Trump have been charged in court filings of orchestrating a pump-and-dump scheme.

Coin Release and Value Spike

The $MELANIA tokens were issued for just a few cents each on January 19, the day before Donald Trump assumed the presidency.

In addition to the First Lady's token, Trump himself released his own digital currency just ahead of the inauguration ceremony.

Within hours, the market value of the $MELANIA cryptocurrency soared to nearly $14 per coin.

Sudden Collapse in Price

However, the price subsequently crashed with similar speed, and is now less than 15 cents – below a fraction of its peak price.

In parallel, the $TRUMP coin achieved a maximum of $45.47 and now trades for under six dollars.

Legal Allegations and Investors' Arguments

The claimants claim that the coin's creators organized the maneuver aware that the digital currency's value would crash.

The First Lady herself is not named in the lawsuit. Investors clarified they do not believe she was at fault, but charged the blockchain organizations of using her and other well-known personalities as window dressing for their illegal activities.

Exchange Platform Involvement

As per fresh legal documents, investors allege officials of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where Melania's coin was initially traded, of creating a scheme that allowed them to discreetly acquire large quantities of the virtual coin.

Their partners then rapidly offloaded these cryptocurrencies, earning significant gains while triggering the price to plummet, as stated in records entered in federal court in Manhattan.

Wider Proceedings

The claims about $MELANIA have been included in legal proceedings involving several other digital currencies, which started in the month of April.

Trump-associated entities has reportedly secured in excess of a billion dollars in pre-tax profits from several blockchain-associated products and companies over the last year.