"Bodyguard Coin" scam? Trump's well-known supporter Ryan Fournier caught in MEME token fraud controversy

Author: Zen, PANews

In the conservative political circles of the United States, Ryan Fournier has risen to fame as a student organization leader and a supporter of Trump, but in the cryptocurrency world, as a "crypto novice," he has become the focal point of a series of controversial events.

From the recent rapid collapse of the "TIKTOK" memecoin to the suspected hype around the "Restore The Republic" (RTR) token using Trump's name, Fournier has repeatedly appeared at the center of the storm. Perhaps due to translation issues, the Chinese community mistakenly believes he is Trump's bodyguard and has referred to this meme coin as the "bodyguard coin."

Who is Ryan Fournier?

Ryan Fournier is an American conservative activist, political commentator, and co-founder and national chairman of Students for Trump. As a star figure in the MAGA movement, he is known on social media for his "vanguard" image supporting Trump. For example, Fournier initiated a boycott of Walmart in 2018 because the company sold T-shirts emblazoned with "Impeach 45" (impeach the 45th president, Trump).

In 2015, while studying at Campbell University in North Carolina, Fournier co-founded Students for Trump with John Lambert, an organization aimed at mobilizing students to support Donald Trump's presidential campaign. As the national chairman of the organization, Ryan Fournier actively participated in related activities and quickly became a youth representative in the MAGA camp.

However, in 2021, John Lambert was sentenced to 13 months in prison by a federal judge for operating a fraudulent law firm. Although Ryan Fournier was suspected of helping John Lambert co-found the fake law firm in 2016, he was not prosecuted according to a document submitted by federal prosecutors, as he had been assisting federal law enforcement since around April 2018. However, in November 2023, Fournier was arrested in Johnston County, North Carolina, on suspicion of domestic violence for grabbing his girlfriend's right arm and whipping her with a handgun.

Fournier: Sold 50% of memecoin, but I did not commit fraud

Last Sunday, after TikTok resumed operations in the U.S., Ryan Fournier stated in an X Space that he had teamed up with a memecoin trader named Asta to launch a TikTok-themed memecoin "TIKTOK." Asta claimed responsibility for creating the token and sent 50% of the supply to Fournier, keeping 1% for himself.

Perhaps influenced by the "super surge" of the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens, the value of TikTok skyrocketed after its launch, with its market cap peaking at nearly $90 million. During this time, Fournier posted screenshots of his account holdings on the X platform, showing amounts as high as $19 million. Meanwhile, Asta excitedly wrote on X, "I sent 50% of TIKTOK to Fournier, which is basically my entire supply; I just wanted to start a cool movement, and now the token's market cap has reached $60 million. If I held that token, that would be really cool."

After Asta's post, Fournier immediately sold all his TikTok tokens. "Right after I posted, he sold all his inventory. I don't know what to say." Less than 10 minutes after the previous post, Asta posted again expressing his disappointment. According to a wallet starting with 9H that Fournier had previously confirmed, he exchanged 505 million TIKTOK tokens for approximately $700,000 worth of SOL at 20:28 UTC on Sunday. This action caused the TIKTOK token price to plummet to zero.

The incident sparked strong dissatisfaction in the community, with many condemning Fournier's actions. Fournier defended himself, claiming that Asta was the one who suddenly sold TIKTOK first, and then he followed suit. "So I don't know what happened… I think that guy is a scammer; I think he just scammed me, and I followed him."

Fournier also repeatedly insisted that he is a novice in the cryptocurrency field, and some terms confuse him. "You are talking to a novice in the cryptocurrency field. I don't even know if I can sell anything." Fournier denied profiting from the sales in the X Space, claiming he was "almost at a loss" after buying and then selling the tokens. He also posted on X that he would stay away from cryptocurrency in the future until he better understands whom to trust, as he looks forward to working for Trump's new government. However, in the Space, he boasted about his connections with Trump's cryptocurrency advisors.

When someone presented a screenshot of Fournier boasting about his holdings, Fournier responded, "Yes, you can look at my account; that number is indeed accurate. Because the person who created the token clearly manipulated the price. I thought that number was real." This response was criticized and mocked by many traders, who stated that Fournier is truly a greedy fool. "Fournier doesn't understand the slippage mechanism in cryptocurrency trading. He thought he could get the total amount displayed on the interface after selling, but in reality, he only received a small portion of the funds."

"He said he would never sell and that he was contacting TikTok. This guy really stole so much money." Asta, another main character in this incident, also criticized Fournier in his response. Although there is no evidence that Asta profited significantly from this incident, as the "originator," the community's attitude towards him is mostly critical, with many saying, "You should also go to jail."

In fact, as a novice in the crypto world, although Fournier has not been in contact with cryptocurrency for long, this is not the first time he has caused controversy.

RTR Token Incident: Controversy Over Using Trump's Name

Half a year ago, when the Trump family launched their own DeFi project to enter the cryptocurrency space, Fournier had already sparked controversy.

"We are about to shock the cryptocurrency world with something big. Decentralized finance is the future; don't fall behind." In August 2024, Trump's two sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., tweeted successively, expressing their love and support for cryptocurrency and previewing a major announcement in the industry. Thus, the "World Liberty Financial" project was officially put on the agenda, marking Trump's deep involvement in cryptocurrency beyond mere verbal support.

As industry confidence was boosted, rumors suddenly emerged on the X platform linking the memecoin project Restore The Republic (RTR) to Trump himself, with the source of this "insider information" being Ryan Fournier. Another well-known KOL @SizeChad released a video stating, "If they don't buy RTR tokens, their T-value will be very low" (T-value is a metaphor for testosterone levels, symbolizing masculinity). This slogan of "real men should buy RTR tokens" aligns with Trump's emphasis on personal "strength" and "vitality" to showcase male charm.

Once this news spread, RTR began to experience a surge, with its token price skyrocketing before starting to plummet. It is suspected that insiders profited $3.8 million by trading Restore The Republic (RTR) through four wallets. However, the team behind the Restore The Republic X account stated on X Sunday that Fournier was not involved in the project and had not received any RTR tokens from the team. They wrote in their statement, "Ryan is not a member of the team and never has been."

After Eric Trump discovered the rumor, he firmly denied any connection between the token and their family on X and condemned Fournier. Once the rumor was clarified, the price of RTR tokens plummeted by 95%. Both Fournier and @SizeChad deleted their previous tweets promoting the token.

Additionally, Donald Trump Jr. also denied the long-standing rumors about the Trump family launching a memecoin. He hinted that their family was planning a new blockchain project, stating that this project is "much larger" than simply launching another memecoin.

However, the recent magical weekend revealed the answer to everyone, including Donald Trump Jr.: In terms of scale, the Trump family would indeed be much better off simply launching one memecoin after another.