A sweeping class-action lawsuit accuses Solana’s Meteora and Kelsier Ventures of orchestrating a $100 million memecoin pump-and-dump scheme involving the MELANIA token and others tied to celebrity hype.
In Brief
- A federal RICO lawsuit accuses Meteora co-founder Benjamin Chow and Kelsier Ventures of orchestrating a $100 million securities fraud scheme.
- The complaint details an alleged six-step “pump-and-dump” playbook used for at least 15 Solana memecoins, including the $MELANIA and $LIBRA tokens.
- On-chain analysis reportedly links defendants to over $40 million in structured insider sales, though a judge lifted a $57.65 million asset freeze in August 2025.
The Solana-based decentralized exchange Meteora, its co-founder Benjamin Chow, and marketing firm Kelsier Ventures are at the center of a federal class-action lawsuit alleging a $100 million racketeering scheme built on celebrity-themed meme coins. An amended complaint, filed on Wednesday, accuses the defendants of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act through securities fraud.
The lawsuit, Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures LLC et al., alleges the defendants executed a systematic “pump-and-dump” playbook. This involved using pre-launch insider token allocations, privileged access to Meteora’s launch infrastructure, and paid influencer campaigns to artificially inflate prices before insiders sold their holdings, according to the filing.
Celebrity Tokens Used as ‘Props,’ Lawsuit Claims
At the core of the allegations are tokens like $MELANIA, which launched shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January 2025. According to the complaint, the token was branded as “official” and promoted using Melania’s name to attract retail investors. It reached a peak market capitalization of $2 billion before collapsing by more than 99%.
“Investors believed they were supporting a celebrity-endorsed innovation,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys state in the filing. “In truth, they were providing liquidity to an insider-controlled market rigged for collapse.”
The lawsuit makes similar claims regarding the $LIBRA token, which was promoted through a now-deleted post on Argentine President Javier Milei’s X account. The token surged 1,000% before insiders allegedly engineered a $107 million “rug pull.”
The complaint clarifies that neither Melania nor President Milei are accused of wrongdoing, describing their likenesses as unwitting “props” used to lend credibility to the scheme.
On-Chain Data and Legal Proceedings
The plaintiffs’ case relies in part on on-chain analysis from Bubblemaps, a blockchain analytics firm, which reportedly traced wallet activity connecting the defendants across multiple token launches. This data allegedly revealed a pattern of structured sell-offs from insider wallets totaling over $40 million.
Despite these claims, the case has faced legal hurdles. On August 20, 2025, U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon dissolved a temporary freeze on $57.65 million in USDC linked to the defendants. In her decision, Judge Rochon stated the plaintiffs had “not demonstrated irreparable harm” and noted she had “doubt” the RICO claims would succeed based on the initial evidence.
Chow resigned as CEO of Meteora on February 17, 2025. His legal counsel, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, called the unfreezing of assets a “significant victory” and stated the claims were “baseless and overreach into legitimate market activity.”
The case is ongoing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Chain Street’s Take
The Melania token lawsuit signals a new frontier in crypto enforcement, where on-chain data and federal racketeering laws converge. Unlike past meme coin controversies, this case doesn’t just allege manipulation; it frames DeFi coordination as organized financial crime.
If the court accepts the RICO framework, it could open the door to broader accountability for protocol teams and liquidity providers, a development that could reshape how future DeFi projects operate under U.S. law.
