TLDR
Federal judge dismissed class action lawsuit against Caitlyn Jenner over meme coin fraud allegations
Lead plaintiff Lee Greenfield lost over $40,000 but failed to prove U.S. jurisdiction for his purchases
Judge allowed until May 23 for an amended complaint with better evidence
Jenner launched tokens on both Solana and Ethereum platforms, allegedly causing the first to lose value
JENNER token has crashed from a $7.5 million peak to around $58,775 in market value
A California federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Caitlyn Jenner and her business partner, Sophia Hutchins, over alleged crypto fraud. U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr. threw out the case, ruling that the British investor who filed the suit cannot use American courts to recover his losses.
The lawsuit was filed by lead plaintiff Lee Greenfield, who claims to have lost over $40,000 after selling Jenner’s meme coin at a loss. Greenfield had held the tokens between May and July 2024.
Judge Blumenfeld stated that the lawsuit “alleges no facts regarding where or how Jenner provided this liquidity.” Without showing how the token purchases were made in the U.S., the court could not “reasonably infer” that Jenner “incurred irrevocable liability” under U.S. securities laws.
The lawsuit presented nine legal arguments against Jenner and Hutchins. Seven of these targeted Jenner directly, including federal securities violations, California state securities laws, fraud, and contract disputes. Two claims were made against Hutchins for controlling-person liability and aiding fraud.
Multiple Token Launches
Greenfield alleged that Jenner and Hutchins misled investors by launching the $JENNER token on the Solana blockchain, then creating identical coins on Ethereum just two days later. This move allegedly caused the first token to lose value.
Between these two launches, Greenfield claimed Jenner promoted another token named after her and Hutchins’s dogs ($BBARK). This happened despite Jenner allegedly assuring followers that she was “fully focused” on the tokens bearing her name.
The lawsuit also alleged that Jenner profited from these actions by collecting a 3% fee on all transactions from the meme coin’s Ethereum version.
However, Judge Blumenfeld noted that Greenfield’s complaint “provides scant details about Greenfield’s purchases.” The lawsuit only stated that Greenfield “accumulated” the tokens, paying with cryptocurrency from the Ethereum and Solana blockchains.
While dismissing the current lawsuit, the judge has given Greenfield until May 23 to file a new complaint with better evidence that his purchases qualify for U.S. legal protection. Jenner and Hutchison have until June 6 to respond to any amended filing.
The class group’s lawyer, Jack Fitzgerald of Fitzgerald Monroe Flynn PC, told Cointelegraph they were “pleased the Court recognized we may be able to state some claims against the defendants, and intend to amend and press forward with the case.”
Judge Blumenfeld dismissed all nine claims brought by the class group in their February amended complaint. These included accusations that Jenner and Hutchins either made misleading statements, sold unregistered securities, or committed various types of fraud.
The JENNER token has lost almost all its value since its launch. According to CoinGecko, its market value has crashed to around $58,775 from a June 3 peak of nearly $7.5 million. The token saw just $61.10 worth of trading volume over a recent 24-hour period.
The post Caitlyn Jenner Crypto Fraud Case Tossed by California Court for Lack of U.S. Purchases appeared first on Blockonomi.
