Elon Musk, also known as the Dogefather, may well have a long list of loyal fans in the crypto community, but Mr. Keith Johnson is definitely not one of them. Today, the world’s richest man was hit with an out-of-this-world $258 billion lawsuit claim that Musk built a pyramid scheme in the name of Dogecoin, and actively endorsed it, resulting in major financial losses for the plaintiff.
Musk, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), and SpaceX hit with civil RICO case in the Southern District of New York https://t.co/es2nkT96jwTesla, SpaceX Both Involved in the Shocking Case— Eric Garland (@ericgarland) June 16, 2022
According to the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan today, SpaceX and Tesla played a significant role in the DOGE pyramid scheme. The plaintiff sees fraudulence in the role SpaceX and Tesla played in the impact on DOGE’s price. Moreover, the plaintiff asserts that Elon Musk, as the CEO of both companies, is involved in the false advertisement of Dogecoin (DOGE), claiming that the popular meme currency provides no value. As the document reads: “Defendants falsely and deceptively claim that Dogecoin is a legitimate investment when it has no value at all”.
The Lawsuit Aims to Ban the Advertisement of Dogecoin (DOGE)
The plaintiff claims that the influence of both Tesla and SpaceX was used to drive up the price of Dogecoin (DOGE) to its all time high of $0.73 on May 8th, 2021, since which time Dogecoin (DOGE) has badly flunked in price. At press time, Dogecoin (DOGE) is trading at $0.057, marking an 81.3% deficit compared with the year prior. Nevertheless, it is obvious that in these times of volatile market conditions, DOGE is not the only cryptocurrency to have recorded consecutive losses. Mr. Johnson seeks damages to the tune of $86 billion. The sought reparations are tied to Dogecoin’s market price decline since its ATH, for which the plaintiff wants to be repaid in triple.
He seeks $86 billion in damages, plus $172 billion in triple damages, as well as an injunction barring Musk and the companies from marketing $DOGE and declaring that the $DOGE trade is illegal under US and New York law.— BNN Newsroom (@BNNBreaking) June 16, 2022
The upstate New York lawsuit aims to see the trading of DOGE listed as gambling under federal law, which would result in a no-tolerance ban of all Dogecoin advertisements. Finally, the main point of the lawsuit is that Dogecoin lacks worth, as a cryptocurrency, but is advertised as a safe investment. The suit claims that “Musk used his pedestal as the ‘World’s Richest Man’ to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement”. though crypto enthusiasts may think that the lawsuit is far-fetched, New York’s crypto regulations are still relatively vague, and such heavy lawsuits could be crucial in terms of framing the future of crypto.