TECH NEWS – Elon Musk is being sued for an almost unimaginable amount of money in forint for “financial manipulation” with the joke cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX are being sued for a staggering $258 billion – no pun intended, that’s billions – for running a Ponzi scheme using the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. Reuters reports that the lawsuit was filed by Dogecoin investor Keith Johnson, who accuses Musk of using his wealth and his position as CEO of the two companies to drive up the price of Dogecoin and then ultimately letting the price plummet.

One word: Doge

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2020

“Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin was worthless, yet they promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading,” the complaint says. “Musk used his pedestal as the richest man in the world to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin pyramid scheme for profit, exposure and entertainment.”

Dogecoin started out as a joke in 2013, but there is no such thing as satire in capitalism, and within a very short time it became the first “meme coin”, which is now considered a “legitimate” cryptocurrency. Its value stagnated for years near zero until Musk tweeted about it in late 2020, causing a steep jump in its price. Subsequent tweets in 2021 pushed it even higher; it peaked at $0.74 in May 2021, but has since plummeted, losing more than 90% of its value and currently standing at roughly $0.06.

Ironically, the lawsuit alleges that the Dogecoin dumping started when Musk was host of Saturday Night Live, which was also in May 2021: During a Weekend Update segment, Musk appeared as a cryptocurrency expert, but after repeatedly trying to explain what Dogecoin was but failing, he eventually agreed with the host that it was all “a scam.”

Johnson wants Musk and his companies to be banned from promoting Dogecoin, and to have Dogecoin trading declared gambling under federal and state law. He is also demanding – again – $258 billion: $86 billion in actual damages, representing the loss in value of Dogecoin since May 2021, plus a treble damages claim. How realistic it is that Johnson will win this lawsuit, or even go to court, is of course another matter…

Coin of the week: DOGE

— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) January 8, 2018

Musk is not the only rich man who has gotten in trouble for promoting Dogecoin. Former anti-virus guru John McAfee was charged with fraud in 2021 for running a number of schemes involving cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin. Shortly before McAfee was due to be extradited to the US to face the charges, he was found dead in a Spanish prison cell after apparently committing suicide.

Source: PC Gamer