A cryptocurrency investor has sued Elon Musk, the richest man in the world according to Forbes, for $258 billion, alleging that he had built a Ponzi scheme over Dogecoin.
Musk and his companies Tesla and SpaceX drove up the price of digital money and then let it crash, according to a brief filed on behalf of Keith Johnson in federal court in Manhattan on Thursday.
"The accused have known since 2019 that Dogecoin has no value, but have still promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading." Musk used his status as the richest man in the world to "trade Dogecoin for profit, attention and amusement." operate and manipulate pyramid schemes".
The text refers to statements by investors like Warren Buffett and technology experts like Bill Gates, who fundamentally question the value of cryptocurrencies.
Johnson wants to sue $86 billion in damages, equivalent to the decline in Dogecoin's market value since May 2021.
form of gambling
The total amount would roughly correspond to half of the German federal budget.
In addition, Musk and his companies should be prohibited by the court from advertising Dogecoin.
Trading in the crypto value should also be classified as a form of gambling.
Statements from the respective lawyers and representatives were initially not available.
Dogecoin was originally launched as a parody.
Its value rose by a quarter in January after Musk announced the possibility of Tesla "merch" purchases with it.
On Thursday, the currency was below $0.06 per coin after hitting a record of around $0.74 in May 2021.