Billionaire businessman Elon Musk is no stranger to the constant media spotlight as he finds himself to be in the public eye, one way or the other. In a recent turn of events, billionaire businessman Elon Musk finds himself entangled in a lawsuit that accuses him of insider trading and market manipulation related to the popular cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. The lawsuit alleges that Musk exploited various platforms, including Twitter and his appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” to manipulate the price of Dogecoin and profit at the expense of investors.
Musk Accused Of Defrauding Crypto Investors
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday night, claims that Musk utilized a combination of tactics, including Twitter posts, paid online influencers, and other publicity stunts, to trade profitably through multiple Dogecoin wallets controlled by him or his electric vehicle company, Tesla. The investors assert that these actions led to significant financial losses for themselves, while Musk reaped substantial gains.
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One alleged piece of evidence highlighted in the lawsuit was Musk’s sale of approximately $124 million worth of Dogecoin in April. The sale coincided with his decision to replace Twitter’s blue bird logo with Dogecoin’s Shiba Inu dog logo, causing a 30% surge in Dogecoin’s price. As reported earlier on CoinGape, after several deliberations and pushback, the 51-year-old Tesla CEO finally acquired the micro-blogging platform for a mammoth $44 billion in October of last year.
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The lawsuit further characterizes Musk’s alleged activities as a “deliberate course of carnival barking, market manipulation, and insider trading.” Investors contend that these actions not only defrauded them but also served as a means for Musk to promote himself and his companies. Moreover, as per the court filing, Musk purposely inflated Dogecoin’s price by over 36,000% within a span of two years before allowing it to crash, resulting in substantial financial losses for those who invested in the meme currency.
These latest allegations are part of a proposed third amended complaint in an ongoing lawsuit that commenced in June of the previous year. Musk and Tesla previously sought the dismissal of the second amended complaint, dismissing it as a “fanciful work of fiction”. However, on May 26, a U.S. District Judge, Alvin Hellerstein, stated that he would likely allow the third amended complaint, indicating that the defendants would not face prejudice.
The lawsuit is currently filed in the U.S. Court of the Southern District of New York which holds Musk accountable for his alleged actions of insider trading and market manipulation in relation to Dogecoin.
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The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.
