Caitlyn Jenner is the target of a proposed class-action lawsuit that landed in California federal court on November 13 against the former Olympian and reality TV star.
The plaintiffs, Naeem Azad from the UK and Mihai Caluseru from Romania, allege that Jenner and her manager, Sophia Hutchins, marketed and sold the memecoin “JENNER” as an unregistered security, injuring both plaintiffs and other investors by millions.
Caitlyn Jenner Faces Class-Action Lawsuit over Memecoins Sales
The complaint states that Jenner and Hutchins “defrauded financially unsophisticated investors both in the United States and abroad” into buying the JENNER token.
According to the suit, Jenner made JENNER ‘unregistered’ with the U.S. SEC, so when investors invested in it they lacked the basic information necessary to evaluate the risks of their investment.
The plaintiffs collectively lost more than $56,000 and say “had it not been for the false and misleading statements and omissions made by Jenner.” When she failed to disclose material information, the complaint asserts, Jenner placed investors at risk of harm that could have been avoided (if the token in question had been registered, Jenner presumably would have had a duty to disclose).
JENNER initially launched on Solana in May through Pump.fun, a memecoin platform. JENNER quickly ran into controversy after Jenner and fellow celebs accused collaborator Sahil Arora of “scammy behaviour,” allegedly hurting the token.
Jenner then quickly relisted the token on Ethereum, which plaintiffs argue deflated the value of the Solana version. In addition, Azad and Caluseru say this change implemented a 3% “tax” on all transactions without any disclosure. They say these moves violated securities laws and helped Jenner make millions at investors’ expense.
The Story of the JENNER Token
After a patchy start on the market, things briefly looked bright for JENNER, but its value is down more than 92% from its launch price. The coin is currently trading at $0.0004374, has a market cap of about $421,910, and much lower trade volumes, indicating damaged investor faith.
The plaintiffs also argue that shortly after the token’s Solana launch, Jenner publicly set ambitious price and market capitalization goals.
The token crashed soon afterwards when Arora, who is not named as a defendant, allegedly sold a significant share of his holdings, triggering a sharp price decline.
As part of an increasing trend of celebrity-backed tokens facing legal scrutiny, experts are warning that these endorsements could be riskier than ever under securities law. Regulators have gone after celebs in the past for pitching crypto on social media without proper disclosures, and the SEC can indeed be a pain.
With Caitlyn Jenner, her case could be even harder still considering she didn’t just promote the token, she was allegedly part of the team that issued it. While these promotional statements from Jenner may be informal, experts suggest that it could still mean a higher level of accountability.
The Controversy Around the Launch
Public debate regarding Jenner’s involvement in the JENNER token saga was sparked when her account on social media platform X (Twitter), started endorsing the coin. Initial posts on Jenner’s account raised questions about whether her account had been hacked.
The account subsequently denied any breach, appearing during a live X Space to answer questions about the accusations. Jenner was playing golf and unavailable, according to her manager, who allegedly replied to concerns during the session.
The plaintiffs also claim that Jenner used profits from JENNER to cover the coin’s listing on exchanges, pledging token buybacks that never came. They say those empty promises also resulted in their monetary losses, urging that Jenner broke securities laws.
As this lawsuit unfolds, Jenner now joins other celebrities becoming ensnared in lawsuits over their promotion of cryptocurrency projects.
Jenner’s legal problems illustrate the danger celebrities might face in a similar scenario, with the SEC historically going after big names like Kim Kardashian for similar cases.