Elon Musk has been hit with a massive lawsuit over his Dogecoin promotion
Centibillionaire Elon Musk has been slapped with a $258 billion class-action lawsuit over his Dogecoin promotion, which was filed in Manhattan’s federal court earlier today.
Keith Johnson, the plaintiff, claims that he wants to represent the people who got burned by the meme cryptocurrency.
Musk, the self-appointed “Dogefather, as well as Tesla and SpaceX have been accused of engaging in “a crypto pyramid scheme.” Johnson claims that Dogecoin is a just a fraud designed for greater fools.
The plaintiff has cited a tweet posted by Dogecoin co-founder Jackson Palmer to bolster his case. As reported by U.Today, Palmer, a vocal critic of cryptocurrencies, opined that the industry was perpetuating a “cult-like” scheme.
Johnson claims that Musk falsely stated that Dogecoin is money while encouraging his audience to buy the cryptocurrency.
Defendants and their employees have allegedly deceived the plaintiff and the class into viewing the Bitcoin parody as a viable asset.
The lawsuit demands that the centibillionaire and his company stop promoting the meme cryptocurrency.
The plaintiff asserts that the defendants “unjustly enriched” by roughly $86 billion with the help of their deceptive practices. The class is also seeking a whopping $172 billion in damages.
Benefiting from frequent Musk tweets, Dogecoin experienced a massive bull run in early 2021. However, the hype surrounding the original canine coin quickly fizzled out.
The meme cryptocurrency is now down a whopping 92.12% from its record high of $0.73.
Musk’s net worth is currently sitting at $217 billion after declining by 19.6% ($53 billion) this year.