First Lady Melania Trump’s name has reportedly surfaced in a lawsuit against the creators of a meme coin accused of defrauding investors. According to Forbes, the lawsuit claims that $MELANIA, a cryptocurrency token launched in early 2025, was one of several coins designed to trick people into buying worthless investments.
Filed in federal court, the lawsuit accuses the developers of running a “pump-and-dump” scheme, where they hyped up the coins’ value only to cash out before prices crashed. Investors, the filing says, were misled into believing they were part of a legitimate project connected to Melania Trump. Instead, the creators allegedly “manipulated the coins’ launches in order to personally enrich themselves while causing others who bought the coins to lose their investments.”
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The complaint goes on to call $MELANIA “a fraud that misused intellectual property and public trust to create the illusion of integrity while executing a theft.” According to The Guardian, the lawsuit says many buyers believed they were supporting a celebrity-backed innovation, when in reality, they were “providing liquidity to an insider-controlled market rigged for collapse.
Forbes reported that the token had nothing to do with Melania Trump herself and that there’s no evidence she participated in or even knew about the scheme. The publication said the developers used her name and image as “window dressing” to make the scam seem credible.
melania trumpIn fact, Melania had promoted the coin briefly on social media, but according to the lawsuit, that was part of the deception. The filings suggest she was likely unaware that her likeness was being exploited to sell a fake investment.
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$MELANIA was launched in January 2025, just days before President Donald Trump began his second term in the White House. The timing helped give the coin an extra boost of attention, drawing in investors eager to connect with the Trump brand. But the new lawsuit alleges the timing was no coincidence—it was all part of the developers’ plan to cash in on the renewed spotlight.
The case, which was first filed in April and updated this week, adds to growing scrutiny around celebrity-linked cryptocurrencies. Over the past few years, several high-profile personalities have been caught in controversies over digital coins that turned out to be scams. This one, however, stands out for one big reason: it involves the name of a former First Lady, even though she apparently had no role in what happened.
For now, the lawsuit paints a picture of a crypto con fueled by hype, political timing, and misplaced trust. As one legal expert told Forbes, “It’s a textbook example of how scammers exploit fame to create false credibility—and how easily people fall for it.”