Investors File Class-Action Lawsuit Against DeFi Protocol Meteora, Alleging Manipulation of M3M3 Token Launch

Investors have filed a class-action lawsuit against the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Meteora, alleging manipulation of the M3M3 token launch and market price.

A group of investors has filed a class-action lawsuit against decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Meteora, alleging manipulation of the M3M3 token launch and market price.

According to a newly amended complaint filed on April 21 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, investors claimed to have suffered at least $69 million in losses. The plaintiffs are seeking to recover damages for fraud, securities fraud, and other claims in the launch of the $M3M3 token on Meteora.

Investors alleged that Ben Chow, Hayden Davis, Gideon Davis, CT Davis, and venture capital firm Kelsier Labs intentionally misrepresented material details to investors and officials. These actions were part of an effort to "illicitly enrich themselves," according to the complaint.

Law firms Burwick Law and Hoppin Grinsell filed the lawsuit on behalf of the investors. The complaint alleged that the defendants engaged in a scheme to defraud investors by making false and misleading statements about the $M3M3 token launch.

The plaintiffs claimed that they were deceived by the defendants' representations that "trusted leaders in the Solana ecosystem" were launching the M3M3 token. However, the complaint asserted that the launch was a "blatant fraud," with sales manipulated to artificially drive up the token's price.

"In reality, $M3M3 was a blatant fraud jointly planned and perpetrated by Meteora, Kelsier, and the Individual Defendants," the filing wrote.

The filing also asserted that the inflated valuation misled outside investors, who trusted the defendants' claims that the M3M3 launch was public, transparent, and fair to all. Investors, believing the market price reflected the token's true value, relied on these representations.

Moreover, the complaint alleged that the defendants engaged in aggressive marketing tactics to deceive investors and officials.

"Defendants' post-launch actions, including the rapid price increase of the $M3M3 Tokens and the Individual Defendants' statements and conduct regarding the launch, are part of a broader scheme to deceive investors and officials into believing that the $M3M3 Tokens have inherent value and a low-risk profile," the filing stated.

"Had Defendants complied with the registration and disclosure requirements applicable to $M3M3, Plaintiffs and other non-insider investors would not have purchased $M3M3 Tokens at inflated prices or suffered the resulting losses," the filing added. "Defendants are liable to Plaintiffs and the rest of the proposed Class for compensatory and punitive damages, and other relief, to compensate for the substantial losses caused by Defendants' malfeasance."

The plaintiffs are seeking to recover their losses, plus interest, and any other equitable relief deemed proper by the Court.

Earlier this year, reports linked DeFi protocol Meteora to the launch of several headline-grabbing - and often controversial - tokens. Among them are digital assets associated with former U.S. President Donald Trump (TRUMP), his wife Melania Trump (MELANIA), the LIBRA token, and a personality-driven token linked to online influencer Hailey Welch (HAWK).

While these launches attracted widespread attention and speculative trading, critics questioned the transparency and legitimacy behind some of the campaigns. Observers also raised concerns over whether hype and celebrity affiliations were used to mask deeper structural or ethical issues within the launches.