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The developers behind a digital token released by US First Lady Melania Trump are now accused in legal documents of orchestrating a fraudulent operation.

Initial Launch and Price Surge

The $MELANIA cryptocurrency were made available for just a few cents each on January 19, one day preceding Donald Trump was inaugurated.

Alongside the Melania cryptocurrency, the former president launched his personal token a few hours before the inauguration ceremony.

Shortly after launch, the price of the $MELANIA token skyrocketed to over $13 per token.

Sudden Collapse in Price

Nevertheless, the price then collapsed almost as quickly, and currently stands at only about 10 cents – below one percent of its maximum worth.

At the same time, the $TRUMP cryptocurrency achieved a maximum of $45.47 and presently sells for under six dollars.

Legal Allegations and Plaintiffs' Position

The plaintiffs assert that the currency's developers organized the scheme conscious that the token's worth would decline sharply.

Melania Trump personally is not included in the lawsuit. The plaintiffs stated they do not believe she was responsible, but accused the crypto companies of using her and other familiar faces as a facade for their fraudulent schemes.

Trading Venue Role

As per fresh legal documents, claimants accuse executives of the Meteora trading platform, where $MELANIA was initially traded, of establishing a plan that enabled them to indirectly purchase substantial volumes of the digital token.

Their partners then quickly resold these cryptocurrencies, securing large returns while triggering the price to plummet, according to papers submitted in federal court in Manhattan.

Wider Proceedings

The allegations concerning $MELANIA have been included in court cases involving multiple additional virtual tokens, which started in the month of April.

The Trump organization has reportedly earned over a billion dollars in pre-tax gains from multiple digital currency-linked products and companies over the last year.