A US judge has released $57.6 million in USDC (USDC) stablecoins linked to the Libra token controversy from February, allowing memecoin promoter Hayden Davis and former CEO of the Meteora decentralized exchange, Ben Chow, to access the funds.
US judge Jennifer L. Rochon had frozen the assets in May during a class-action lawsuit hearing involving Davis, Chow, blockchain infrastructure firm KIP Protocol, and KIP’s co-founder, Julian Peh.
The judge stated that the defendants failed to prove “irreparable” harm as the funds to compensate victims were still available, and they did not attempt to relocate the frozen assets, according to Law360.
In July, Davis submitted a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against him, which the court denied as “moot.” Nevertheless, Rochon expressed skepticism about the class-action lawsuit’s chances of success against Davis, Chow, and others.
The original complaint filed against Hayden Davis, Ben Chow, Julian Peh, and others. Source: PACER
The Libra token scandal is regarded as one of the most significant rug pulls in history, involving Argentine President Javier Milei, which led to an ethics investigation and class-action lawsuits from investors.
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The Libra token scandal and the aftermath that rocked the crypto world
The Libra token debuted in February, marketing itself as a project to support small businesses in Argentina and was initially endorsed by Milei on social media.
The project failed within hours of its launch, causing significant backlash from investors, who described it as a $107 million rug pull.
Milei distanced himself from the token, claiming ignorance regarding the project’s fundamentals and retracting his initial support.
“A few hours ago, I posted a tweet, like so many times before, supporting a supposed private venture with which I evidently have no connection,” Milei commented in a Feb. 14 X post.
This response did little to stop a congressional investigation into Milei for potential ethics breaches and prompt calls from Argentine lawmakers for his impeachment.
However, Milei terminated the investigation and disbanded the task force with no charges or findings of wrongdoing against his office, leading to accusations of a politically motivated cover-up.
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