Burwick, leading the case against Pump.fun, claims the platform allowed offensive tokens targeting his family in an effort to intimidate him.
Pump.fun, a widely used meme coin launchpad built on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, has gained traction as a platform where users can create, trade, and speculate on tokens within minutes.
While it has fueled excitement in the degen trading community, it has also raised concerns over market manipulation, rug pulls, and unregistered securities.
Over the past month, Pump.fun has become the center of a legal battle, facing multiple lawsuits from Burwick Law, which alleges that the platform profits from artificially inflating token prices before they inevitably crash.
What started as a regulatory and financial dispute has now taken on a personal dimension.
The legal fight, led by attorney Max Burwick, has escalated beyond the courtroom, with Burwick alleging that Pump.fun is being used to target him and his family.
Tokens referencing his cognitively disabled sister, his widowed mother, and fundraising efforts allegedly linked to them have surfaced on the platform.
In a statement to crypto.news, he said:
“I expect opposition in my work, but I will not tolerate threats and harassment directed at my family.”
Before addressing these allegations, it is important to examine the ongoing legal battle that led to this situation.
Pump.fun’s legal issues and cease and desist order
The first major lawsuit against Pump.fun was filed on Jan. 16 by Burwick Law and Wolf Popper LLP. The complaint accused the platform of violating U.S. securities laws by facilitating the sale of unregistered securities under the guise of meme tokens.
The case focused on Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), a token that allegedly experienced an artificial price surge due to influencer promotions, only to collapse soon after—leaving traders with significant losses.
On Jan. 30, a second lawsuit expanded the allegations against Baton Corporation Ltd, the operator of Pump.fun, and key individuals behind the platform.
This time, the complaint accused the company of running a pump-and-dump model, extracting nearly $500 million in fees from traders while aggressively marketing tokens that later lost most of their value.
Investor Diego Aguilar, one of the plaintiffs, cited his losses on tokens such as Fwog and Griffain, which were heavily promoted before experiencing sharp price declines.
By Feb. 5, the legal campaign escalated with a cease and desist letter from Burwick Law and Wolf Popper LLP. The letter demanded the removal of multiple tokens allegedly misusing names, including Dogshit2 and others tied to their firms.
The letter warned that continued inaction could result in further legal consequences, arguing that these unauthorized token deployments were not just deceptive but also legally actionable.
Harassment allegations and Burwick’s response
While the lawsuits against Pump.fun were already significant, the situation escalated further when users allegedly created highly offensive tokens targeting Burwick and his family.
Among the tokens were “Help Max Burwick Sister (Rachel)” and “Max Burwick Retard Sister (Rachel),”referencing his cognitively disabled sister. Others allegedly used his mother’s image.
Burwick has since filed a police report and escalated the situation to a criminal investigation. Speaking on the matter, he stated:
“As an attorney, my responsibility is to represent my clients zealously. I expect opposition in my work, but I will not tolerate threats and harassment directed at my family. Pump.fun has facilitated and continues to facilitate the sale of tokens containing my family’s personal information, including images of my grieving mother—whose husband, my father, passed away less than a year ago—and my cognitively disabled sister.”
Beyond targeting his family, Burwick claims these tokens are being used for unauthorized fundraising efforts,misleading the public into believing the funds are being directed toward his family when they are not.
“This is not only targeted harassment but a direct attempt to intimidate me from pursuing litigation on behalf of my clients. Even more disturbingly, the platform is allowing unauthorized fundraising efforts using these images, misleading the public into believing these efforts benefit my family when they do not.”
Burwick stressed that these actions will not deter him from pursuing the case.
“As a result, I have filed a police report and escalated this issue to a criminal investigation. I also expect my family will be doing the same. These tactics will not deter me from representing my clients zealously, to the best of my abilities, and within the bounds of the law.”
He also reflected on the emotional toll the situation has taken on his family, particularly his sister, who he says does not even understand what is happening.
“It is sad to see people using my sister this way. She won’t understand this because she is so limited in her cognitive abilities, but it says a lot about people and their priorities. Her photo was taken from a real fundraiser.”
Crypto.news has not yet been able to reach Pump.fun for comment on these developments.
