Elon Musk Tweets Support for Dogecoin After Being Named in $258 Billion Pyramid Scheme Suit
If it’s Monday (or Tuesday, or Wednesday, etc.), then Elon Musk must be in the news. This time the Tesla CEO and Twitter suitor made headlines for offering his support of Dogecoin after he was sued for $258 billion by a Dogecoin investor who accused Musk of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency.
In a tweet on Sunday, Musk offered this short statement: “I will keep supporting Dogecoin.”
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That tweet came on the heels of last week’s $258 billion lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Manhattan, Reuters reported. In the suit, plaintiff Keith Johnson accused Musk, electric vehicle maker Tesla and Musk’s space tourism company, SpaceX, of racketeering for driving up Dogecoin’s price only to let it crash amid the current crypto winter.
According to the complaint, Musk and the other defendants “were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value yet promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading.” Johnson added, “Musk used his pedestal as World’s Richest Man to operate and manipulate the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme for profit, exposure and amusement.”
The complaint also includes comments from business luminaries such as Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and others who have questioned the crypto’s value.
Tesla, SpaceX and a lawyer for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. Musk’s only public comment as of early Monday was his tweet a day earlier.
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Johnson seeks $86 billion in damages — which represents the decline in Dogecoin’s market value since May 2021, Reuters noted — and then wants to see that figure tripled. He also wants to prevent Musk and his companies from promoting Dogecoin.
And there’s one more thing: Johnson wants a judge to declare that trading Dogecoin is “gambling” under federal and New York law.
The complaint alleges that Dogecoin’s selloff began around the time Musk hosted “Saturday Night Live” and called Dogecoin a “hustle” during a “Weekend Update” appearance in which he played a fictitious financial expert.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Elon Musk Tweets Support for Dogecoin After Being Named in $258 Billion Pyramid Scheme Suit
