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The architects behind a virtual coin released by US First Lady Melania Trump are now accused in federal papers of planning a market manipulation plot.

Coin Release and Price Surge

The $MELANIA cryptocurrency were released for under a dollar each on the 19th of January, one day preceding Donald Trump took office.

In addition to the First Lady's token, the former president released his own digital currency shortly prior to the presidential inauguration.

Shortly after launch, the market value of the $MELANIA token surged to over $13 per unit.

Rapid Decline in Value

However, the value plummeted just as rapidly, and presently trades for less than 15 cents – below one percent of its highest value.

Meanwhile, the $TRUMP coin achieved a maximum of $45.47 and now trades for $5.79.

Legal Allegations and Plaintiffs' Position

The claimants allege that the token's architects organized the scheme knowing that the cryptocurrency's price would plummet.

The First Lady personally is not included in the legal action. Claimants stated they do not think she was culpable, but alleged the digital currency firms of using her and other familiar faces as a cover for their criminal operations.

Trading Venue Involvement

According to recently submitted legal documents, claimants charge leaders of the Meteora cryptocurrency exchange, where $MELANIA was originally listed, of setting up a operation that allowed them to discreetly acquire substantial volumes of the cryptocurrency.

Associated individuals then rapidly offloaded these virtual tokens, securing large returns while triggering the price to plummet, per records entered in Manhattan federal court.

Wider Proceedings

The allegations about the First Lady's coin have been added to judicial actions concerning several other cryptocurrencies, which commenced in the month of April.

The Trump family has according to reports generated over a billion dollars in pre-tax gains from several cryptocurrency-related enterprises and organizations over the last year.