Steve Bannon lands in hot legal waters with MAGA memecoin: report
MAGA figurehead Steve Bannon is facing legal jeopardy after an investor in his supposedly "uncancelable" memecoin accused Bannon of fraud in a new lawsuit, according to a report.
The memecoin, which was once called "FJB" or the "Let's Go Brandon" coin, was purchased by Bannon and another MAGA figure, Boris Epshteyn, in 2021 and promoted heavily during the Biden administration. The coin was unique in that it had an 8% transaction fee, but it was justified by claiming that 5% of the fee is donated to charity.
As the years rolled on, one investor noticed that the charitable donations were starting to dry up. Instead, the money appeared to be getting directed to crypto wallets that invested in highly speculative coins, The Bulwark reported. One investor who lost more than $58,000 on the coin sued Bannon and Epshteyn, and the lawsuit is awaiting class certification in the District of Columbia.
"Early on, Bannon and Epshteyn billed 'FJB' as the basis of an entirely new 'uncancelable' MAGA economy," The Bulwark reported. "The coin was promoted by other MAGA figures like Jack Posobiec and Benny Johnson."
"But according to the lawsuit, Bannon and Epshteyn ran it straight into the ground," the report added. "Amid a broader decline in memecoin values in 2023, the price of 'FJB' plummeted, and both Bannon and Epshteyn distanced themselves from the project. The lawsuit alleges that $2.7 million in transaction fees meant for charity or efforts to promote the coin instead disappeared entirely."