Meteora founder accused of using celebrity images to manipulate crypto tokens

According to ChainCatcher, citing a report from Decrypt, a class action lawsuit accuses Meteora founder Benjamin Chow of being the mastermind behind a cryptocurrency scam, illegally using the images of former U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei as promotional props for "scam tokens." The MELANIA and LIBRA tokens involved in the case surged in value after launch and then quickly plummeted. Legal documents cite Telegram screenshots showing that Chow, in collaboration with Hayden Davis and Kelsier Ventures, manipulated at least 15 tokens through a "pump and dump" scheme. Although the court is skeptical about the prospects of the lawsuit, it has unfrozen $57.6 million USDC funds related to the LIBRA token.