TLDR:
- Founders allegedly used one-sided liquidity pools to extract around $107 M from the LIBRA token launch.
- The complaint states that over 760 M LIBRA tokens (76% of supply) were transferred by insiders shortly after minting.
- The court ordered freeze of approx. $110 M in LIBRA proceeds and ~$57.65 M USDC in specific wallets.
- Plaintiffs claim founder Benjamin Chow orchestrated at least 15 tokens and used the names of Melania Trump and Javier Milei as promotional fronts.
A U.S. class-action lawsuit now accuses crypto startup founder Benjamin Chow of running a pump-and-dump network around meme coins such as “MELANIA” and “LIBRA”.
Investors allege Chow used his firm and associates to launch tokens tied to major names, leading to rapid collapses and big losses for retail buyers. A recent court order froze roughly $57.65 million in USDC and approx. $110 million in token-proceeds held in wallets controlled by the defendants.
The filing, part of the case Hurlock v. Kelsier Ventures, lays out detailed liquidity-manipulation allegations and claims a coordinated scheme spanning at least fifteen tokens. Source: court filing and public coverage.
Token scheme and crypto price manipulation with LIBRA
The complaint alleges that the token known as LIBRA was marketed as a tool to fund small businesses in Argentina and was backed by public figure Javier Milei. Yet the filing claims the promotional story masked a design to inflate crypto price and allow insiders to cash out.
Specifically, the document states that Kelsier Ventures and its team minted one billion LIBRA tokens, then transferred about 760 million (76 % of supply) into wallets they controlled. It further alleges that under the infrastructure provided by Chow’s firm Meteora, the team used single-sided liquidity pools that allowed insiders to extract stable assets such as USDC and SOL.
According to the complaint, within hours of the launch investors lost as much as 94 % of token value.
Founder role, promo fronts and the frozen assets order
According to the filing, Benjamin Chow sits “at the center of the enterprise”. He allegedly recruited a small network including the Davis family via Kelsier Ventures and ran an infrastructure of at least fifteen pump-and-dump tokens.
The complaint claims that names like Melania Trump and Javier Milei were used more as promotional props than genuine participants. The token “MELANIA” tied to Melania Trump reportedly surged then crashed by 99 %.
In its May 29 2025 order, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York froze “approximately $110 million in LIBRA proceeds” plus “approximately 57,654,371 USDC” in two identified wallets.
Later filings indicate the TRO was vacated and the USDC un-frozen after defense motion.
Investors and crypto traders should watch this case as it progresses. The outcome could influence how regulators and courts treat similar crypto token launches, price manipulation and the use of public-figure names in promotions.
