The lawsuit against Elon Musk ensures that the tycoon executed a pyramid to support said cryptocurrency .
Elon Musk has been sued for $258 billion for allegedly running a pyramid scheme to back the Dogecoin cryptocurrency .
The lawsuit was filed by Keith Johnson in the Manhattan courts and alleges that Elon Musk is responsible for the high volatility of the cryptocurrency for his own benefit.
The lawsuit against Musk
According to the papers shown, Elon Musk and his company SpaceX promoted the cryptocurrency in order to increase its price and be able to sell it earning a large amount of money, collapsing it and letting new investors lose their savings.
“The defendants knew since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value and were still promoting Dogecoin to profit from their trade,” the complaint says. “Musk used the pedestal of himself as the richest man in the world to operate and manipulate the pyramid scheme in Dogecoin for profit, exposure and fun.”
To support this, the plaintiff adds comments from tycoons such as Bill Gates who assure that this cryptocurrency does not have a greater value.
The complaint says Dogecoin ‘s crash began when Musk was hosting NBC’s ” Saturday Night Live” and, playing a fictional financial expert in a “Weekend Update” segment, called Dogecoin “a scam.”
How much is he asking?
Johnson is seeking $86 billion in damages, representing the decline in Dogecoin ‘s market value since May 2021, and wants it to triple.
He also wants to stop Musk and his companies from promoting Dogecoin and have a judge rule that trading the cryptocurrency is gambling under New York and federal law.
Dogecoin traded at around 5.8 cents on Thursday, down from its May 2021 high of around 74 cents.