Meteora Founder’s $57M Memecoin Scam Exposed - Melania Trump & Milei Names Allegedly Misused

Digital Asset Drama Unfolds as High-Profile Names Dragged Into Crypto Controversy

The $57 Million Question

Another day, another memecoin scandal rocking the crypto space—this time with political star power attached. The founder of Meteora stands accused of orchestrating a massive $57 million scheme that allegedly leveraged the credibility of former First Lady Melania Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei.

Celebrity-Endorsed Crypto: Red Flag or Revenue Generator?

While the specifics remain under investigation, the pattern feels familiar: influential names, viral marketing, and disappearing funds. The crypto community watches with weary eyes as yet another project demonstrates why due diligence matters more than celebrity tweets.

Regulatory Storm Clouds Gather

As authorities dig deeper, this case could become the latest battleground in the ongoing war between innovation and investor protection. Because nothing says 'financial revolution' like old-fashioned fraud dressed in blockchain clothing.

The lawsuit seeks disgorgement of all profits, trebling of compensatory damages under RICO statutes, and appointment of a qualified independent receiver over Meteora’s upgradeable smart-contract programs.

Six-Step Fraud Playbook Exploited Celebrity Endorsements

The complaint details a systematic playbook used across all tokens.

It begins with narrative invention using borrowed fame, then rigging supply through insider-funded accounts that execute opening-second orders, manufacturing HYPE through undisclosed paid Key Opinion Leaders, and engineering price spikes using Meteora’s pool controls to pause public trading until insider positions are secured.

It also involves executing extraction by selling massive positions while draining liquidity, and reinventing the scheme with new themes but recycled tooling.

The $LIBRA fraud exemplified this pattern when Argentine President Javier Milei’s verified social media account posted the contract address at the exact moment pools opened in February 2025, triggering a retail stampede.

The campaign styled $LIBRA as a patriotic Argentine revival initiative promising to fund small businesses.

Within hours of launch, the deployer wallet withdrew over $110 million in USDC stablecoin liquidity, stripping the token of its foundation and causing instant price collapse, coinciding with Milei’s post-retraction.

A group of Argentine #crypto investors have launched a lawsuit against Javier Milei, an outspoken MP and Bitcoin advocate who wants to run for president.

Read morehttps://t.co/MplcXKW6rI

The $MELANIA fraud marketed the token as the official meme coin of Melania Trump, with claimed vesting mechanisms to protect against dumping.

Wallets connected to the Meteora-Kelsier cluster accumulated approximately one-third of the entire supply in minutes before the official launch.

After orchestrated hype, insider wallets dumped tokens into the surge, with the price subsequently losing over 90% of market capitalization within days.

Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis, who co-founded both $LIBRA and $MELANIA, stated in a YouTube interview that ““

Chow Resigned in February, Now Faces RICO Charges

Back in February 2025, Ben Chow stepped down from Meteora following the $LIBRA controversy, with Jupiter co-founder Meow stating that, while confident in Chow’s character, he showed “a lack of judgment and care about some of the core aspects of the project.”

A leaked video posted by SolanaFloor showed DeFiTuna founder Dhirk informing Chow about Davis’s misconduct, with Chow expressing visible shock and stating, ““

The lawsuit alleges that Chow maintained unique expertise in controlling technology, directing the configuration of liquidity pools, fee routing, trading parameters, and the ability to freeze or thaw trading selectively.

Kelsier Labs secretly agreed to invest approximately $2 million into Meteora’s operations as a pay-to-play buy-in.

Whistleblower communications confirm Hayden Davis acted under Chow’s instructions on more than fifteen token launches, establishing central command.

The complaint asserts seven causes of action, including fraud, conspiracy to defraud, RICO violations for a pattern of racketeering activity consisting of thousands of wire fraud acts, deceptive practices under New York General Business Law, and unjust enrichment.

The timing coincides with broader scrutiny of TRUMP family crypto ventures, which reportedly generated $1 billion in pre-tax gains over the past year.

The $TRUMP and $MELANIA coins generated approximately $427 million, while both tokens experienced dramatic declines during the presidential inauguration, with $MELANIA’s market cap plummeting from $2 billion to $790 million.