Two U.S. law firms, Wolf Popper and Burwick Law, have significantly expanded their lawsuit against the controversial platform Pump.Fun. The case now targets Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, and Jito Labs, and notably includes Solana co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal.

RICO Allegations: Illegal Gambling, Fraud, and Money Laundering

In the amended complaint filed Wednesday, attorneys allege that key figures in the Solana ecosystem violated the U.S. RICO Act, a law originally designed to fight organized crime. Among the defendants are Dana Albert, Lily Liu, and Austin Federa of the Solana Foundation. All are accused of participating in a large-scale, coordinated criminal scheme.

📌 RICO-related charges include:

🔹 Illegal gambling

🔹 Wire fraud

🔹 Intellectual property theft

🔹 Unlicensed money transmissions

🔹 Violations of New York’s General Business Law (§349 and §350)

🔹 Securities law violations

According to the plaintiffs, Solana Labs and Jito Labs “knowingly and deliberately participated” in the fraudulent activity. They argue that these entities are not mere bystanders – but rather “architects, beneficiaries, and co-conspirators” of the scheme.

Jito Executives and Pump.Fun Founders Also Named

Alongside Solana’s founders, the complaint names Jito Labs executives, including COO Brian Smith and CEO Lucas Bruder. It also targets Pump.Fun founders Dylan Kerler, Noah Bernhard, Hugo Tweedale, and Alon Cohen.

The plaintiffs argue that Pump.Fun blatantly violated U.S. financial crime laws, including:

🔹 Section 311 of the Bank Secrecy Act

🔹 The USA Patriot Act

🔹 FinCEN regulations

🔹 State licensing laws for money transmitters

🔹 OFAC sanctions rules

Alleged North Korean Connection via Lazarus Group

The lawsuit alleges that Pump.Fun’s failure to verify users and monitor suspicious activity enabled North Korea's Lazarus hacking group to launder $1.5 billion stolen in a hack on the Bybit platform, using a memecoin called QinShihuang launched via Pump.Fun.

Accused of Promoting Exploitative and Offensive Tokens

Pump.Fun is also accused of deliberately launching and promoting “tokens that exploit hate speech, violence, and abuse to generate attention and trading volume.” Some of the tokens are said to have infringed trademarks as well.

The complaint paints Pump.Fun as an unlicensed digital casino, where meme coin creation is merely a cover for slot-machine-like operations run as part of a broader system of illicit gambling and money transmission.

Tied to Class Action From PNUT Investors

In June, Judge Colleen merged this case with a separate class-action lawsuit brought by investors in the PNUT meme coin – namely Kendall Carnahan, Michael Okafor, and Diego Aguilar. They claim they were victims of manipulation and extortion by Pump.Fun, Jito, and Solana leadership.

According to the complaint, Pump.Fun generated $722.85 million in revenue from its "illegal gambling business" through a so-called bonding curve system. Jito Labs allegedly monitored transactions, captured profitable ones, and forwarded them to the highest bidder.

Summary: This Is About More Than Meme Coins – It’s About Billions, Fraud, and Serious Charges

The expanded lawsuit against Pump.Fun reveals deep links between the platform, Solana, and Jito Labs, and outlines serious allegations of organized crime, financial fraud, and money laundering. This case could have significant consequences not just for Solana, but for the entire DeFi ecosystem.


#solana , #pumpfun , #CryptoScandal , #defi , #CryptoCrime

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