Once hailed as Australia's rising tech prodigy, Ben Pasternak is now facing mounting legal pressure after being arrested in New York on assault-related charges, even as a class-action lawsuit accuses him of orchestrating a large-scale crypto rug pull tied to his SocialFi platform Believe.

Former SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony was sentenced to 100 months in a US federal prison after being found guilty of running a scheme that misled investors and diverted millions from the project’s liquidity pools. The court said he and his co-conspirators secretly used investor funds for personal profit, despite promising the money was locked and safe.

The Solana-based memecoin platform expands into venture funding, selecting 12 projects for $250K each and offering mentorship while aiming to diversify beyond speculative tokens.

Just weeks after leaving office, Eric Adams unveiled a New York–themed memecoin pitched as a social good. On-chain data now suggests a chaotic — and controversial — debut.

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks over their promotion of crypto firm Voyager Digital, ruling that the court in Florida had no jurisdiction. The case was linked to investor losses after Voyager went bankrupt in 2022, but the court did not rule on whether Cuban or the Mavericks were liable.

The Atlas memecoin, themed around US Vice President JD Vance’s pet dog, has nearly half of its supply controlled by 68 wallets showing signs of coordinated buying and potential insider activity. The token was heavily promoted by the influencer Whale Insider, raising concerns that retail investors could be at risk from price manipulation.

Seven companies ran fake crypto platforms and WhatsApp investment clubs, tricking US investors out of over $14 million with false trading claims and AI-driven tips. Victims were pressured to pay extra fees to withdraw funds, and the stolen money was sent through overseas bank accounts and crypto wallets.

Soulja Boy apologised for promoting numerous crypto and NFT projects that later failed or were scams. Critics and analysts remain concerned as he appears to be involved with new high-risk tokens on the Base platform.

Within hours of the tragic death of American political commentator Charlie Kirk, opportunistic actors in the crypto space launched multiple meme coins tied to the incident. The move drew sharp criticism, raising fresh ethical concerns over profiteering from real-world tragedies.

The Solana trading bot project AquaBot disappeared with \$4.65 million in presale funds just before its token launch. Investors were left with losses as the token never listed, raising concerns over scams and influencer-backed projects on Solana.