The “Let’s Go Brandon” (LGB) cryptocurrency token has found itself at the center of a lawsuit for engaging in a “pump-and-dump” scam. The lawsuit alleged that the developers of the meme coin and others artificially inflated its value before selling their share for personal benefit.
Eric De Ford, the plaintiff, stated in the lawsuit that a pump-and-dump scheme was perpetrated by the creators of the LGB token and their company – LGBcoin.io. Brandonbilt Motorsports driver Brandon Brown, Candace Owens, and David Harris. Jr and others, including NASCAR, have been listed in the lawsuit. The complaint says they falsely endorsed the meme coin on social media while concealing their ownership of substantial amounts of the highlighted asset.
The token had reached a market value of more than $570 million amid reports that it was set to become the official sponsor of Brown’s racing team. But a NASCAR employee signed off the agreement before the company took a u-turn and blocked the deal. James Koutoulas, the Trumpy hedge funder who is LGB’s former de facto leader, had alleged last week that major coin holders had driven the decline by rapidly selling large volumes of tokens.
He became aware of the sell-off in January. As such, Koutoulas frantically bought $70,000 worth of LGB tokens in an effort to stabilize the coin’s price. However, it failed. The lawsuit stated that the misleading promotions and celebrity endorsements artificially boosted the interest in the price of the LGB tokens during the relevant period. It prompted investors to purchase the losing investments at inflated prices. The LGB token bubble, wherein the price spiked more than 500%, burst almost immediately when NASCAR withdrew its acceptance of the sponsorship.
Moreover, the lawsuit highlighted that “Let’s Go Brandon” is a political expression that many people have used to indicate dissatisfaction with US President Joe Biden.
