Legal Storm Escalates: Wolf Popper & Burwick Law Now Target Solana Labs, Foundation, and Jito in Pump.Fun Lawsuit

Solana's ecosystem braces for impact as heavyweight law firms expand their legal offensive.

The Pump.Fun lawsuit just got uglier—and more expensive—for Solana's key players.

Wolf Popper and Burwick Law aren't just chasing the meme coin platform anymore. They've set their sights on Solana Labs, the Solana Foundation, and Jito Labs in what's shaping up to be a brutal discovery process. When the subpoenas start flying, expect some very interesting internal memos to surface.

This isn't your typical 'rug pull' lawsuit. The expanded claims suggest systemic issues—exactly what regulators love to see when they're deciding whether to pile on. Solana's native token (SOL) barely blinked at the news, proving once again that crypto markets price in legal risk about as well as a drunk frat boy prices in hangovers.

RICO refers to a US law passed to fight organized crime

RICO refers to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. It’s a U.S. law that was passed in the 70s to fight organized crime. The law lets prosecutors bundle different illegal acts into one case.

The filing says Pump.Fun clearly breached financial crime laws in the US. It points to Section 311 of the Bank Secrecy Act, USA Patriot Act, FinCEN rules, the state licensing rules for money transmitters, and OFAC sanctions.

“By refusing to verify user identities, failing to monitor or report suspicious transactions, and neglecting any formal AML program, Pump.Fun exposes the public to severe risks of criminal exploitation—facilitating money laundering, terrorist financing, sex trafficking, and other serious crimes,” the plaintiffs wrote.

The lawyers say that gap let North Korea’s Lazarus Group launder the funds that it had stolen in the $1.5 billion Bybit hack via the “QinShihuang” memecoin launched on the platform.

Pump.Fun is accused of knowingly promoting exploitative coins

They also accuse Pump.Fun of deliberately creating and promoting “tokens that exploit hate speech, violence, and exploitation to generate attention and trading volume” and of violating trademarks.

Earlier in June, Judge Colleen consolidated a separate class action against Pump.Fun that was brought by PNUT memecoin’s investors. Those lead plaintiffs are Kendall Carnahan, Michael Okafor, and Diego Aguilar.

The complaint reads, “This action is brought by, and on behalf of, victims of a coordinated racketeering enterprise designed to simulate the functions of a digital casino operated illegally under the guise of meme coin creation and trading.” 

It continues, “In truth, Pump.Fun is merely the front‑facing slot machine cabinet, operated as part of a broader illegal gambling and money transmission scheme engineered and maintained jointly by” Pump.Fun, Jito, and Solana leadership.

The lawsuit mentions that Pump.Fun’s revenue stands at $722.85 million from its “illegal gambling enterprise” via what it calls the bonding curve. It also claims Jito Labs “monitored the spins and intercepted profitable transactions, and sent them to whoever bribed them the most.”

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