Explosive Lawsuit Rocks Solana's Meteora: Alleged $69M Scam with M3M3 Token!

Buckle up, crypto fans! Meteora, the Solana-based decentralized exchange, is now in the eye of a legal storm. A class-action lawsuit just dropped, claiming that Meteora and some shady affiliates pulled off a slick scam with the M3M3 token launch, leaving investors high and dry.

Inside Job or Masterful Deception?

On April 21, a bombshell filing hit the US District Court in New York, accusing Meteora, its CEO Benjamin Chow, Kelsier Labs, and execs Hayden, Gideon, and Charles Thomas Davis of straight-up lying to the public. They're said to have yanked the strings behind the scenes of the $M3M3 token launch, jacking up the price just to cash out big time.

The complaint spills the tea, revealing that these insiders snagged up to 95% of the token supply using a sneaky network of over 150 wallets. Talk about hoarding!

But wait, it gets messier. They allegedly blocked regular folks from buying in during the early trading phase, letting the price balloon through some shady internal trades. And once it hit the roof, boom—they dumped their stash, sending the price crashing down in just days.

The whole thing was pitched as a way to fight the "pump-and-dump" madness in meme coins, with Chow hyping $M3M3 as a secure, stake-backed gem with real value. Investors were promised a fair and open launch, with staking rewards supposedly coming from Meteora's own transaction fees. But now, the plaintiffs are crying foul, saying it was all smoke and mirrors.

The Aftermath: A $69 Million Disaster

This coordinated con job reportedly cost non-insider investors a whopping $69 million. They bought into the hype, only to watch their dreams crumble when the token tanked right after its December 4 debut. The slide started on December 6, right after the insiders bailed.

And get this—the defendants tried to win back trust by pumping up the token again, but it was too little, too late. They're also accused of hiding their true identities and connections, making it seem like a legit, community-driven launch.

Meteora and Kelsier Labs have been on the hot seat before. They were linked to the LIBRA token crash that wiped out millions, and insiders were caught using private liquidity tricks to cash out at the top, leaving everyday traders in the dust. The same crew was also behind the MELANIA memecoin launch, which ended in tears for retail buyers.

Chow has since stepped down from Meteora, caught up in the LIBRA scandal for allegedly managing those tokens on the down-low.

Calling for Justice and Change

The April 21 lawsuit claims the M3M3 launch was just a repeat of the same old playbook. Now, the plaintiffs want the court to put a receiver in charge of Meteora to keep an eye on things and protect any remaining assets.

They're also pushing for stake-based meme tokens like $M3M3 to be officially labeled as securities. This could shake up how any new celebrity or political token hits the market on Solana.

Max Burwick from Burwick Law, representing the investor group, is on a mission. He and his firm had already thrown down another class-action lawsuit on March 18, targeting Kelsier Ventures, KIP Protocol, and Meteora over their roles in the LIBRA fiasco.