The social media star is said to have promoted an animal-themed Solana memecoin that went bust soon after it was launched.
Mario Nawfal Allegedly Promoted Questionable CHILLA Memecoin
When the owner of a social media platform, who also happens to be the world’s richest man, endorses someone, others pay attention. This is partly how 30-year-old Elon Musk protégé Mario Nawfal garnered his nearly 2 million followers on X, and he’s allegedly using that clout to promote memecoins.
According to his biography on Entrepeneur.com, Nawfal dabbled in several entrepreneurial endeavors before entering crypto in 2017 when he founded the International Blockchain Consulting (IBC) Group. But according to reporting by NBC News, Nawfal would later face complaints of embezzlement, which were reviewed by the FBI and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
(A former employee accuses Nawfal of embezzlement / Chet Long on X)
And now, the Lebanese Australian is also facing accusations of promoting the questionable project CHILLA, which launched on Thursday, and is already on a downward spiral just hours after its first token was minted.
“Chilla is bringing real-world education to blockchain users, helping them develop practical skills for today’s economy,” Nawfal posted on X. “This post is for informational purposes only,” Nawfal added – part of a disclaimer he seems to append to similar announcements. After browsing the CHILLA website, it remains unclear exactly what “real-world education” and “practical skills” Nawfal nor the project is referring to.
($CHILLA’s homepage / CHILLA)
Nawfal posted another message four hours later, reminding his followers of the expected launch time, complete with a line about how “animal memes will always have a place in crypto.”
(A message reminding Nawfal’s followers of $CHILLA’s launch time / Mario Nawfal on X)
CHILLA launched at around 11:30am eastern standard time (EST), but quickly imploded, and at the time of reporting, had lost more than 90% of its value. Its current market capitalization is roughly $450,000, according to data from Dextools.
($CHILLA price action / DEXtools)
This is not the first time Nawfal has been accused of endorsing crypto tokens. One YouTube video shows Nawfal bragging about charging anywhere between $20,000 and $40,000 for promoting crypto projects.
“I charge for those pitches, twenty, thirty, $40K in tokens or fiat,” Nawfal said.
Bitcoin.com reached out to Nawfal for comment, but he had not responded at the time of publication.
