A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Caitlyn Jenner by buyers of the JENNER memecoin, accusing the former Olympian of promoting the token through “false and misleading statements.”
The suit, lodged in California federal court on Nov. 13, alleges that Jenner and her manager, Sophia Hutchins, marketed JENNER as an unregistered security, persuading inexperienced investors in the U.S. and abroad to purchase the token.
According to Bloomberg Law , plaintiffs Naeem Azad and Mihai Caluseru from the United Kingdom and Romania collectively lost over $56,000 from buying JENNER tokens on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains.
They argue they were lured in by Jenner’s promotions and would not have invested if they’d had accurate information about the token’s risks and registration status with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The JENNER token debuted on Solana in May through the memecoin platform Pump.fun, only to quickly run into controversy. Jenner and other notable promoters accused collaborator Sahil Arora of misconduct in a separate incident, and the token was later relaunched on Ethereum.
Source: PACER
However, the Ethereum-based JENNER token failed to recover its initial popularity or value, plummeting from a $7.5 million high to just $170,000, with a mere $1.80 in trading volume on Nov. 13.
Source: Coingecko
The token dropped following the lawsuit, but it recovered in a pretty good manner, pumping almost 75% in just 24 hours, marking a stunning change in the market.
The lawsuit claims that Jenner has largely abandoned the project and no longer actively promotes the memecoin, leaving investors to shoulder the losses. Plaintiffs allege that Jenner promised to forgo a relaunch of the token but instead migrated it to Ethereum, adding a 3% transaction fee they say was not adequately disclosed and enriched Jenner at investors’ expense.
Additionally, the suit contends that Jenner failed to disclose details regarding her holdings, her relationship with Arora, and profits used for exchange listings and promised token buybacks that allegedly never materialized.
The plaintiffs claim damages from securities and common law fraud, among other allegations, as well as aiding and abetting fraud against Hutchins. Neither Jenner nor her representatives were immediately available for comment.
