Meteora Conducted $69 Million Memecoin Scam, Token Buyers Allege

Cryptocurrency exchange Meteora, its CEO, and a venture capital firm manipulated a newly launched memecoin’s trading price, costing investors $69 million, purchasers say in a would-be class action.

The scheme used the reputation of CEO Benjamin Chow—a leader in the Solana ecosystem—and investment stability claims to promote Meteora’s M3M3 platform and the $M3M3 memecoin, Jonathan Clarke and Rodrigo Ferreira Da Cruz Vogt say. They filed their complaint Saturday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The suit names venture capital firm Kelsier Labs LLC and its priciplals, Charles Thomas Davis and his sons Hayden and Gideon Davis, as defendants along with Meteora and Chow. Meteora is an unincorporated decentralized exchange.

The group executed serial pump-and-dump schemes beginning shortly after $M3M3 launched on Dec. 4, 2024, the plaintiffs say.

Chow resigned from Meteora in February, according to the complaint.

Meteora is among Solana blockchain-based projects that have been tarnished by bot-driven trading spikes, trading “cabals,” and other conduct contributing to volatility.

The proposed class consists of “many hundreds of non-insider investors” who purchased the tokens between between Dec. 4 and April 19, the complaint says.

Clarke and Vogt bring claims for the unregistered offer and sale of securities, securities fraud, violations of New York deceptive business practices law, common law fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment. They seek compensatory damages, rescission, and punitive damages.

Chow didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment sent through LinkedIn. Efforts to reach Meteora, Kelsier, which does business as Kelsier Ventures, and the Davises weren’t successful.

Hoppin Grinsell LLP and Burwick Law PLLC represent the investors.

The case is Clarke v. Chow, S.D.N.Y., No. 1:25-cv-03268, complaint 4/19/25.