"Crypto Robin Hood" LUIGI: Shooting and killing the CEO of a 100 billion yuan group; the market value of the meme with the same name fell by 80% afte

Original title: "When Meme Coins Meet Social Hotspots: LUIGI Stages a "Crypto Robin Hood" Plot"

Original author: Wenser, Odaily Planet Daily

At 2 a.m. on December 10, a meme coin called LUIGI was listed on the popular coin selection platform Moonshot about 30 minutes after the opening of pupm.fun. Amid market speculation about whether it was a "conspiracy plate" or a "big golden dog", its market value rose rapidly, once breaking through to nearly 80 million US dollars. Subsequently, the news that "the CEO of the largest insurance company in the United States was shot and killed by digital nomad Luigi Nicholas Mangione" became popular. In this regard, another "news hot meme coin" has attracted countless market attention, and more news about the incident behind the token involving sensitive factors such as US health insurance, social justice and illegal sanctions has gradually surfaced, which makes people sigh.

On the third day after the incident, let us review this "tragedy of the commons in the US health insurance industry" and understand the love-hate relationship between Meme coin and news from another perspective.

When a man named Luigi decided to commit a crime: the whole story of the shooting of the CEO

December 4, which is set as "Constitution Day" in China, is just an ordinary day in the United States.

Of course, for UnitedHealthcare, the largest insurance company in the United States and the second largest in terms of global turnover, this day is not ordinary, because the annual investor exchange meeting of this US health insurance giant is about to begin.

By then, Brian Thompson, the CEO and helmsman of this industry giant, will share the company's impressive achievements this year with people from all walks of life. After all, in the 2024 Fortune 500 list, UnitedHealth Group, the parent company behind UnitedHealthcare, has an annual revenue of $371.622 billion, ranking 8th in the world, even $7.14 billion more than Berkshire Hathaway, which is well-known to everyone, Buffett. The previous one is the global technology giant Apple; its market value once reached $560 billion, covering nearly 50 million American citizens. He certainly has reason and qualifications to be proud of himself and the company's achievements.

Fortune Magazine-UnitedHealth Group ranked 8th

6:45, facing the slightly chilly weather in Manhattan, New York, Brian Thompson was about to go to the Hilton Hotel where the exchange meeting was held. Because it was not far from his hotel, he chose to walk there and did not arrange security personnel for protection. Although he had received several death threats before, for him who had worked at UnitedHealth for 20 years, such threats were commonplace and he never took them seriously.

Just as he was walking on the sidewalk as usual, an accident happened - a masked man wearing a black hooded jacket and carrying a gray backpack suddenly appeared behind him like a ghost, and fired several shots with a 9 mm silencer pistol in his hand, hitting his back and calf. Although the pistol had a jammed shell in the middle, the man in black tidied himself up and walked towards Brian Thompson who had fallen down and fired another shot. Afterwards, the man crossed an alley and quickly fled the scene. Witnesses said he rode an electric bicycle into New York's Central Park.

6:48, 3 minutes after the shooting, New York police arrived at the scene and found several bullet shells left on the ground, engraved with the words "Deny, Defend, Depose" (another saying is Delay, Deny, Depose), and these three words starting with D just correspond to a set of unwritten industry rules in the US insurance industry when dealing with insurance incidents - delay: delay the claim time; refuse: refuse to pay the claim; question: question the insured in an attempt to make him give up the lawsuit.

7:04, according to the surveillance video, he took a taxi to the bus terminal, and then did not appear again in the video surveillance of the bus station, and left New York.

At 7:12, less than 30 minutes after being rushed to the hospital, Brian Thompson was pronounced dead after failed rescue efforts. The helmsman of a multi-billion dollar business empire was thus turned into a lonely soul under the gun.

As the news of the incident spread, American society was in an uproar.

Some people regard him as a "blatant murderer". After all, it is hard to imagine how cruel and cold-blooded this bloodthirsty demon is when he calmly kills and escapes in broad daylight. Some people think that there may be other hidden reasons for his "shooting the CEO of the largest insurance company in the United States". Such a seamless murder plan and a clear target object cannot rule out personal grudges or other possibilities. Some people think that this incident is just another repetition of the "gun murder incident" that has long been common in American society, but this time the victim is no longer a civilian as before, but the CEO of a giant company.

As time went on, more information was gradually revealed:

On December 5, the police investigation found that the gunman had stayed at the HI New York City Hostel on Manhattan's Upper West Side and had a brief conversation with a female staff member when checking in at the front desk. To be precise, "they were flirting, and then he (the gunman) took off (a mask or other covering) and smiled brightly." CBS News quoted a person associated with the New York police as saying.

Screen of the gunman talking to the front desk

On December 9, at a McDonald's at 407 Plank Road East in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 450 kilometers from New York, a McDonald's clerk reported to the police that he had found a man wearing a medical mask and a beanie and carrying a backpack who was suspected to be the "New York street shooting gunman". When the police rushed over, they found that his facial features were consistent with the murderer, and confirmed him as the suspect in the "12.4 CEO shooting incident" during the interrogation, and subsequently arrested him.

It is reported that the man is named Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26 years old, and he was in possession of a gun believed to be the one used to shoot Brian Thompson on the 4th (later confirmed to be 3D printed, which also confirmed the reason why it had jammed before). The police also found a three-page handwritten document in his personal belongings, in which Luigi wrote: "To the federal personnel, I will be brief because I do respect what you have done for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I clearly state that I have not cooperated with anyone." In addition, he wrote in the handwritten document: "I apologize for any disputes or trauma caused, but it must be done. Frankly speaking, these parasites deserve it." 3D printed "murder weapon" With Luigi's arrest, information about his identity and motive for the crime gradually came to light. At this time, people realized that the matter was far from being summarized by a phrase "ordinary shooting incident."

When justice and morality collide head-on: The chronic disease of the US health insurance industry VS patients’ claims

The incident has further fermented as Luigi Nicholas Mangione's identity information has become increasingly clear, and the spearhead is directed at the slightly deformed medical insurance system in the United States.

According to netizens, Luigi Nicholas Mangione is an Italian American who was born in Maryland, USA. He graduated from Gilman School, a famous private high school in Baltimore (the school has an annual tuition of up to $37,000) in 2016 and spoke as a representative of outstanding graduates; he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, one of the "8 Ivy League schools in the United States" in May 2020. He previously studied computer science and minored in mathematics, and obtained a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering; he served as the chief counselor of the preparatory research project at Stanford University, and the video game development club he founded in college was also selected into the Computer Honor Society. He himself has interned at the famous 3A masterpiece Civilization series game company, and has also worked as a data engineer at California car shopping website TrueCar. In 2023, he went to Hawaii to start his digital nomad life.

Later, someone found his Goodreads book list, and The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferries, a well-known investor and digital nomad advocate, was on the list. In addition, he also wrote a long review of On Industrial Society and Its Future by Ted Kaczynski, an extremist, American mathematician, and notorious "University Unabomber" in January this year. He mentioned: "(We) can easily and quickly regard this as a madman's manifesto without thinking. But it is impossible to ignore how prescient many of his predictions about modern society are... When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary for survival... These companies don't care about you, your children or your grandchildren... 'Violence will never solve anything' This is a statement made by cowards and predators." It is worth mentioning that after his arrest, the US police quickly blocked and hid all of Luigi's social media (but his X platform account @PepMangione was spared because it had not posted for a long time), and his Goodreads book reviews were no exception.

Goodreads long review left by Luigi

In addition to his personal past experiences, his family background has also been put in the spotlight. People have discovered that the family behind Luigi is a well-known and prominent family in the local area - his grandparents are real estate developers, the family has many properties in Maryland, and operates several elderly rehabilitation centers and two country clubs; his cousin Nino Mangione is a Republican member of the Maryland House of Representatives and also serves as the co-chairman of the Trump campaign team in Baltimore County. It is worth mentioning that after Luigi Nicholas Mangione was arrested, Nino Mangione posted on social media: "Our whole family is shocked and saddened by Luigi's arrest. We pray for Brian Thompson's family and ask everyone to pray for everyone involved."

A few weeks before the shooting, Luigi had lost contact with his family. According to his friends, Mangione had back surgery a few months ago, and the surgery was not effective. The back pain caused great trouble to his daily life. Netizens speculated that he suffered from spondylolisthesis based on his Goodreads bookshelf information.

According to netizens, based on the information leaked to the New York Times by law enforcement officials and other information, the handwritten declaration that Mangione carried with him when he was arrested may be as follows:

"To the federal personnel, I will try to be brief because I respect everything you have done for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I will say bluntly that I am not cooperating with anyone.This is pretty simple: some basic social engineering, basic computer-aided design, and a lot of patience. If you find the spiral notebook, there are some scattered notes and to-do items in it that can give you a rough idea of what happened. My electronic devices are strictly protected because I work in engineering, so there may not be much information there.

I am deeply sorry for any conflict or trauma caused, but it must be done. Frankly speaking, these parasites have purely brought this upon themselves.A reminder: The United States has the most expensive health care system in the world, but our life expectancy ranks around 42nd. UnitedHealth is the [xxx] The largest company, second only to Apple, Google and Walmart. It keeps getting bigger, but what about our life expectancy? No, the reality is that these [xxx] have become too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for huge profits because the American public indulges them with impunity. Obviously, the problem is much more complicated, but I don’t have enough space to expand on it, and frankly, I am not the most qualified person to discuss it in detail. But many people (such as Rosenthal and Moore) have exposed this corruption and greed many years ago, and the problem still exists. This is no longer a problem of cognition, but obviously a power game. Obviously, I am the first person to face it in such a straightforward way. "

Combined with his previous "elite resume", it is difficult not to feel a sense of pity for this speech. The opposite of this sense of pity is the cruel and ruthless other side of the current American health care system.

It is understood that the proportion of US medical and health expenses in GDP has always been significantly higher than that of other countries: according to a number of data, the average hospitalization cost in the United States is as high as 22,500 US dollars; common appendectomy surgery in China costs about 30,000 US dollars in the United States, and complex surgery can easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Without medical insurance, ordinary people simply cannot afford it; and medical insurance in the United States is also difficult for people to accept easily.

A Gallup poll found that in 2023, about 81% of Americans were dissatisfied with their health insurance costs in the United States, the highest level in 16 years; KFF research showed that in 2024, the average health insurance cost for American families was $25,572, while the average health insurance cost for unmarried adult citizens was $8,951, an increase of 6% and 7% respectively over the previous year; since 2000, except for a few years, the increase in health insurance premiums has exceeded inflation.

In addition, a 2023 survey by the American Medical Association found that one-third of doctors reported that the "approval first, then treatment" prior authorization model promoted by American health insurance companies caused many patients to develop serious lesions, 94% of patients had necessary treatments delayed, 80% of patients chose to give up treatment, and 9% of patients became disabled or even died. Not to mention, health insurance companies will use various reasons, various procedures and claims processes as obstacles, and try every means to reduce claims costs or even refuse insurance. It is no wonder that the book "Delay, Denial, Defense: Why Insurance Companies Don't Pay Claims and What You Can Do?" published by Jay M. Feinman, a professor at Rutgers University in the United States in 2010, was previously very popular.

As for UnitedHealth Group, which has 140,000 employees, according to the financial website Value Pengui, its rejection rate may be as high as 32%. Almost one out of every three customers who request a claim is rejected, which is twice the industry average (16%). The reason behind this is naturally inseparable from Brian Thompson, who was promoted to CEO in 2021.

It is understood that since 2021, UnitedHealthcare's refusal rate has been increasing: in 2020, the figure was 10.9%; in 2022, it doubled to 22.7%. In contrast, the company's profits have risen: in 2021, the profit was US$12 billion; in 2023, the figure increased to US$16 billion. You know, this is the company's revenue performance during the COVID period. At the same time, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, received an annual salary of US$10.2 million, US$9.8 million, and US$9.6 million from 2021 to 2023, respectively.

Under Brian Thompson's leadership, UnitedHealthcare also prepared to launch a plan in 2021 to refuse to pay for emergency room visits to what it considered "non-critical hospitals", but it was shelved due to too many protests. At the 2023 investor conference, it also outlined that the company would prefer to pay claims "based on valuable care," that is, the post-hospitalization care phase rather than the treatment phase.

Even according to a report from the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in October this year, UnitedHealthcare has been using AI tools and an algorithm called nH Predict to screen insurance policies, among which post-acute care is the most frequently denied item, and the acute care denial rate is about three times the overall denial rate. At the end of last year, the families of two deceased customers sued UnitedHealthcare, claiming that it deliberately used a flawed algorithm to refuse to provide elderly patients with extended care that doctors deemed necessary, with an error rate of up to 90%. A previous investigation by ProPublica also found that UnitedHealthcare used algorithms to effectively cut or limit some treatment costs, endangering the mental health insurance of many Americans. In California, Massachusetts and New York, this practice of insurance companies is considered illegal.

It should be noted that American insurance companies have always been regarded as "unbeatable money-making beasts". Due to their numerous insurance regulations and strong legal power, most people can only choose to accept reality after being denied compensation. Only 0.1% of people will appeal against the denial of compensation.

When the cold and cruel social reality meets the seemingly passionate justice sanctions, the "Robin Hood-style" heroic plot is undoubtedly more touching. This is also the reason why many people, including some American media, focus on UnitedHealthcare and the American health insurance system rather than "Luigi himself shot the CEO". Social media platforms including X, Reddit, Tiktok, etc. have been filled with slogans such as "FreeLuigi" and "Free the man" in recent days. Some people even fabricated "alibi" for him on news website message boards and social media. What's more, the McDonald's was "besieged" by netizens, and people gave it a one-star bad review on the map software.

This McDonald's "suffered a one-star bad review" because of public outrage

Of course, not everyone will be overwhelmed by this passionate idea of "eliminating harm for the people".

On December 10, Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro publicly condemned Luigi Nicholas Mangione: "In some dark corners, this killer is hailed as a hero. Listen to me, he is not a hero. The real hero in this story is the person who called 911 at McDonald's."

In addition, a screenshot taken by a netizen showed that Musk had expressed his opinion on the matter on December 7: "It's disgusting. Everyone is making that guy into some kind of folk hero. Insurance companies, like any company, have a responsibility to maximize profits for shareholders, no matter how ruthless the means. The radical left who don't buy this need to grow up and mature."However, the tweet is not currently found under Musk's account content, and it is suspected to have been deleted or a Photoshop spoof.

Internet screenshot

There were also different online news later, saying that Luigi Nicholas Mangione may have committed this because of his mother's chronic back pain claim or his grandparents' medical insurance claim. The specific situation still depends on further investigation by the US police. On December 10, the New York police charged him with second-degree murder in connection with the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO, as well as five other charges, including forgery of documents, false identity, and illegal possession of firearms. However, since different states in the United States have different laws and judicial systems, it may take days or weeks to transfer fugitives between states. When cryptocurrency becomes the "fire zone" of news, can speculation prolong the life of the hot spot? According to GMGN data, as of the time of writing, the price of LUIGI, the eponymous token of the protagonist of this incident, is currently reported at $0.015, with a market value of approximately $15 million, which has fallen by about 80% from the high of $78 million.

LUIGI Token Information

Like the crypto prediction market Polymarket that successfully predicted Trump’s victory this year, today’s Meme coins have become a “social hot spot weathervane” in a sense. The squirrel and related Meme coin PUNT that were “cruelly killed” before were even highly praised by Musk, who said that “a squirrel and a Meme coin saved the United States.” Although it is somewhat exaggerated, it is still an affirmation of the social news value of Meme coins. Including the Ethereum Meme coin MOODENG, which was created by borrowing the Tiktok animal internet celebrity image of the hippopotamus, the subsequent use of token donations to support charity is also one of the rare “Mass Adoption” (large-scale adoption) test examples in the cryptocurrency industry.

In addition, the popularity of news hotspots is also directly reflected in the market performance of a number of cryptocurrencies, including Meme coins. However, for many projects, pure speculation can only be a "one-wave zero-sum game". Whether it can inject new vitality into news hotspots often depends on the lasting influence of a cryptocurrency project narrative.

LUIGI is just the intersection of Meme coins and news hotspots. More projects will emerge later. Can Meme coins at that time promote similar events to have a different direction and outcome? Only time can tell us the answer.

References:

Shooting! UnitedHealthcare CEO was attacked and killed at the annual investor meeting

Catch the man who shot the CEO | Prism

The suspect who shot the boss of the largest insurance company in the United States is called the contemporary Batman

The rejection rate is as high as 32%! Behind the shooting of the insurance giant CEO

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