Melania Trump, Javier Milei Cleared of Wrongdoing in Memecoin Scams

In a recent crypto lawsuit, Meteora founder Benjamin Chow is facing allegations of orchestrating memecoin scams involving MELANIA and LIBRA. The lawsuit claims that Chow and his associates used public figures like Melania Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei as “props” to legitimize the scam tokens.

What’s Meteora Founder’s Role in Memecoin Scams?

The MELANIA, LIBRA memecoin scams take a surprising turn with a new crypto lawsuit , which alleges Meteora founder Benjamin Chow orchestrated the scheme. The lawsuit also clears Melania Trump and Javier Milei of any wrongdoing in promoting the scam tokens.

The case alleges Meteora and its partner Kelsier Ventures masterminded a pump-and-dump scheme involving 15 tokens, which used public figures' images to lure investors. The filing read,

“Defendants borrowed credibility from real-world figures or themes—such as the ‘official Melania Trump’ coin, [and] the ‘Argentine revival’ coin tied to President Javier Milei. These faces and brands were used as props to legitimize what was actually a coordinated liquidity trap. Plaintiffs do not allege those public figures were culpable; they were merely the window dressing for a crime engineered by Meteora and Kelsier.”

Memecoin Scams- A Closer Look

Notably, the abovementioned memecoin scams had significantly caught the public's attention as they involved celebrities. In January, the First Lady of the United States promoted a Solana-based token bearing her name. This came shortly after her husband, Donald Trump, launched the TRUMP token. Although the token’s price skyrocketed initially after her backing, it plummeted by 99% as the team behind it sold off the cryptos.

A similar pattern emerged with Argentine President Milei's promotion of the LIBRA token , touted to support small businesses. The crypto’s value surged before plummeting 90% in hours, prompting Milei to delete his promotional posts. On-chain analysis revealed a connection between the wallets behind LIBRA and MELANIA, fueling the class-action lawsuit.

The latest case filing targets Benjamin Chow instead of these public figures; it says that they were unwittingly used for promotion. The filing asserts that Chow's market maker business was allegedly separate from the operation that ran the pump-and-dump tokens. The complaint asserted,

“Chow assembled a small group of trusted collaborators: Ng Ming Yeow (“Ming”), co-founder of Meteora and Jupiter; and the Davis family, acting through Kelsier Ventures (Hayden, Charles, and Gideon Davis), to execute the fraud. Together, they launched and marketed at least 15 tokens that followed an identical blueprint; this complaint details five of them.”