New York Court Lets Pump.fun Racketeering Claims Continue, Drops Securities Counts

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE

A New York federal judge has let some racketeering claims against the memecoin platform Pump.fun continue, while dismissing the securities claims as they were written. The ruling decides which claims may go forward. It is not a finding that anyone committed fraud.

Plaintiffs’ counsel Wolf Popper hosted the court’s opinion and, in an update dated August 31, 2026, said the ruling was issued that day. The case is Aguilar, Carnahan, and Okafor v. Baton Corporation Ltd., doing business as Pump.fun, and others, No. 25-cv-880, before Judge Colleen McMahon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The opinion is titled “Opinion and Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss.” [1] [2]

A memecoin is a crypto token often launched as a joke or internet meme and traded mainly on hype. As the court recites the complaint, Pump.fun is an online platform for creating and trading those tokens on the Solana network. Baton Corporation Ltd. is described as an English company that operates the platform, with operations beginning in January 2024. Those background points come from the complaint as the court summarized it, not from independent findings. [1]

CONFIRMED EVIDENCE

A motion to dismiss asks a judge to throw out claims before a trial. When the court says a claim was adequately pleaded, it means the complaint told a story that, if later proven, could support that claim. That is not proof, and it is not a verdict.

The court granted the motions in part and denied them in part. [1]

Two plaintiffs, Carnahan and Okafor, adequately pleaded a civil RICO claim and a RICO conspiracy claim against Baton and three founders named in the opinion: Alon Cohen, Dylan Kerler, and Noah Bernhard Hugo Tweedale. RICO is a U.S. federal law that lets people sue over an alleged pattern of crime run like a business. The statutes cited are section 1962(c) and section 1962(d) of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. [1]

The third named plaintiff, Aguilar, did not. The court dismissed Aguilar’s RICO claims as to every moving defendant because Aguilar did not adequately allege a domestic RICO injury, meaning harm tied to the United States in the way that law requires. [1]

No plaintiff adequately pleaded RICO against the Solana defendants named in the opinion: Solana Labs, Inc.; Solana Foundation; Anatoly Yakovenko; Raj Gokal; Dan Albert; Austin Federa; and Lily Liu. The opening holdings do not separately decide claims against Jito-related parties listed in the caption. This article does not infer that result. [1]

The securities-law claims against the Baton defendants were dismissed. The court said the named plaintiffs had standing only for two tokens they personally bought, FRED and GRIFFAIN. As pleaded, those two did not plausibly involve investment contracts under the Supreme Court’s Howey test, which asks whether buyers put money into a common enterprise expecting profits from other people’s work. The court held the plaintiffs did not plead a common enterprise. Claims over the other 18 tokens the plaintiffs called “Pump Tokens” were dismissed because the named plaintiffs lacked class standing. They could not sue over tokens they did not buy. [1]

An unjust enrichment claim was dismissed as to every moving defendant. Unidentified “Lead KOL Doe Defendants” had not been served. The court ordered the plaintiffs to show cause why those claims should not be dismissed. KOL means key opinion leader, a promoter. [1]

CONTEXT AND TIMELINE

The court’s summary of the complaint is not a finding that the allegations are true. According to that summary, the current complaint is Docket No. 129. It alleges that insiders bought tokens early, used coordinated promotion, and sold into retail demand. It alleges a 1 percent fee on every buy and sell. Plaintiffs estimate retail losses of $4 billion to $5.5 billion. Those dollar figures are the plaintiffs’ estimates, not court findings. [1]

The opinion recites Cohen as chief executive, Tweedale as chief product officer, and Kerler as chief technology officer. [1]

On the named plaintiffs’ purchases, as the court recites them: Okafor bought GRIFFAIN and other tokens in the United States from March 2024 through January 2025 and alleged losses of $242,076.74. Aguilar bought FRED, FWOG, and GRIFFAIN. Carnahan bought PNUT and other Pump.fun tokens. FWOG is not among the 20 tokens the plaintiffs called securities. Carnahan did not buy any of those 20 tokens. [1]

Public counsel and docket records show an earlier Carnahan complaint filed January 16, 2025, as No. 1:25-cv-00490, and an Aguilar complaint filed January 30, 2025, as No. 1:25-cv-00880. The live caption is the three named plaintiffs in 25-cv-880. The January 2025 Aguilar complaint is an earlier filing, not the current pleading. [3] [4] [5]

A Wolf Popper update dated July 30, 2025, which is counsel’s account and not the court order, says the cases were consolidated on June 25, 2025, a consolidated amended complaint was filed July 22, 2025, and Okafor was named lead plaintiff. [7]

On February 27, 2025, SEC staff published a statement that meme coins matching the staff’s description are generally not securities. That is a staff view, not a Commission rule, and it is not this court’s holding. The staff also noted that other agencies can still pursue fraud. [6]

WHAT REMAINS UNKNOWN OR DISPUTED

The defendants dispute the allegations. This ruling does not decide who is right.

The court did not find that Pump.fun, its founders, or anyone else committed fraud or ran a racketeering enterprise. Claims that survived this stage may still be narrowed or lost later.

This article does not treat the $4 billion to $5.5 billion loss estimate as a verified figure.

The opinion’s opening holdings do not separately dispose of Jito Labs, Jito Foundation, Lucas Bruder, or Brian Smith, who appear in the caption. Their status is not confirmed here.

The public Justia docket snippet reviewed for this draft shows early 2025 filings and was last retrieved on August 31, 2026. It is not a complete copy of the court file. [4]

WHAT READERS SHOULD WATCH NEXT

Watch the docket in No. 25-cv-880 for the next court-filed order. Watch whether Carnahan’s and Okafor’s RICO claims against Baton, Cohen, Kerler, and Tweedale move into the fact-gathering stage of the case or face a later motion. Watch any amended pleading or further order on Aguilar’s dismissed RICO claims, the dismissed securities counts, unjust enrichment, and the unserved promoter defendants. None of those next steps is a prediction of the outcome. [1] [4]

SOURCES AND DISCLOSURES

[1] U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Aguilar, Carnahan, and Okafor v. Baton Corporation Ltd. d/b/a Pump.fun et al., No. 25-cv-880 (CM) (McMahon, J.), Opinion and Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss, PDF hosted by plaintiffs’ counsel:
https://www.wolfpopper.com/siteFiles/News/Pump.funOpinionandOrder.pdf

[2] Wolf Popper case update, August 31, 2026, stating that the court issued the ruling that day and hosting the opinion PDF. Counsel’s dated update, not a substitute for the opinion’s text:
https://www.wolfpopper.com/news/court-allows-rico-claims-against-pumpfun-and-founders-to-proceed

[3] Wolf Popper Pump.fun case page, including the live caption and links to filings:
https://www.wolfpopper.com/cases-investigations/pumpfun-memecoin

[4] Justia public docket page for No. 1:25-cv-00880, last retrieved August 31, 2026. Public snippet, not the full court file:
https://dockets.justia.com/docket/new-york/nysdce/1:2025cv00880/635992

[5] Original Aguilar complaint PDF, used only for the January 30, 2025 filing date and original parties. This filing is superseded and is not the current pleading:
https://www.wolfpopper.com/siteFiles/Cases/PumpFun_Class_Complaint.pdf

[6] SEC staff statement on meme coins, February 27, 2025. Staff view, not a Commission rule, and not this court’s holding:
https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/staff-statement-meme-coins

[7] Wolf Popper update, July 30, 2025, describing consolidation, the consolidated amended complaint, and Okafor as lead plaintiff. Counsel’s account, not the court order:
https://www.wolfpopper.com/news/pumpfun-class-action-lawsuit-expands-with-consolidated-amended-complaint-adding-rico-allegations-and-new-defendants

Disclosure: This is a sourced report on a pleading-stage court order, not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any token, including tokens named in the lawsuit. Surviving a motion to dismiss is not a finding of fraud, racketeering, or securities-law liability. Loss figures in the complaint are allegations and estimates, not verified totals. No paid placement, sponsorship, or affiliate relationship with the parties, counsel, or cited sources was used. The featured illustration was generated for CryptoWorkPro and is not a documentary photograph of a court proceeding or a copy of publisher artwork.