Billionaire Elon Musk has been sued by a Dogecoin investor on Thursday for $258 billion over claims of running a pyramid scheme by supporting the meme token. The lawsuit named Musk, the electric car manufacturer, Tesla and, the space rocket company, SpaceX.
The legal complaint filed by Keith Johnson in a New York court accused the three of illegal racketeering to inflate the price of Dogecoin.
“Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value, yet [it] promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading,” the complaint stated. “Musk used his pedestal as World’s Richest man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement.”
Dogecoin was developed as a meme cryptocurrency, representing a dog face that was an internet meme. However, the token garnered massive popularity during the cryptocurrency bull market.
Despite being a meme, the token received support from several celebrities, including Musk who became the biggest proponent of the cryptocurrency. His company, Tesla, even decided to accept the meme token as a form of payment for merchandise.
All the support and the following of a cult-like community pushed Dogecoin's price to as high as $0.74 during its peak, but it is now trading at $0.05.
An Insane Claim?
The plaintiff, Johnson is now wants to represent a class action for all the Dogecoin investors who lost their money since April 2019. Though the value of his investment in the meme token is not known, he is seeking $84 billion in damages, along with triple damages of $172 billion.
Moreover, Johnson wants a court order to block Musk and his companies from promoting Dogecoin. In addition, he is seeking a court declaration that Dogecoin trading is gambling under the US and New York law.
The legal representatives of Musk or his companies are yet to officially react to the massive lawsuit brought against them.
