A class action lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York has expanded racketeering allegations against memecoin platform Pump.fun, now explicitly naming Solana Labs, Solana Foundation, Jito Labs, and Jito Foundation as co-defendants. Represented by Burwick Law and Wolf Popper, plaintiffs accuse the entities of operating an illegal gambling enterprise that extracted $4 billion to $5.5 billion from retail users through speculative memecoin trading.
The amended RICO complaint alleges Pump.fun's bonding-curve pricing model—combined with anonymous wallet access and priority trading for insiders—created a "structurally rigged environment" resembling an unlicensed casino. Defendants including Solana co-founders Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, and Jito CEO Lucas Bruder, face accusations of wire fraud, securities violations, unlicensed money transmission, and facilitating intellectual property theft.
Plaintiffs contend Solana and Jito were active participants rather than neutral infrastructure providers. Solana allegedly monetized user activity through blockspace fees and SOL appreciation, while Jito is accused of enabling front-running via MEV tooling. The lawsuit further references alleged connections to North Korea's Lazarus Group and facilitation of harmful content.
Legal experts warn the case could redefine accountability in decentralized ecosystems. "Permissionless doesn’t mean beyond reproach", stated reputation management attorney Andrew Rossow, noting infrastructure providers facilitating legally gray activities face significant exposure. Burwick Law has previously filed similar actions against crypto platforms, though all claims remain unproven in court.