A class-action lawsuit accuses Meteora founder Benjamin Chow of being the mastermind behind the "scam tokens" MELANIA and LIBRA. The lawsuit alleges that former US First Lady Melania Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei were merely used as promotional props and had no direct involvement in the alleged scheme. The lawsuit, stemming from the case Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures, names Meteora, Chow, and its partner, Kelsier Ventures, as defendants. The indictment alleges that the team manipulated at least 15 tokens through "pump and dump" tactics, using the images of real public figures to create liquidity traps and packaging tokens. MELANIA and LIBRA were particularly prominent examples of this scheme. The lawsuit alleges that Chow worked closely with Meteora co-founder Ng Ming Yeow and Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis to mass-issue these "pump tokens" using the Meteora brand and technical infrastructure. LIBRA was once advertised as supporting small and medium-sized businesses in Argentina, while MELANIA launched two days after Trump unveiled his official token. Both subsequently plummeted by over 90%. Despite the court's August order to unfreeze $57.6 million in USDC funds tied to LIBRA and expressing skepticism about the plaintiffs' prospects of success, the case is still moving forward. Chow resigned from Meteora in February. (Decrypt)