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In 2024, Dubai-based investor Sahil Arora made headlines for frauds using the Solana (SOL) based Pump.fun platform. Sahil Arora is accused of deceiving investors by launching altcoins through celebrities, earning approximately 30 million dollars in the process.
Exploiting Legal Loopholes Through Celebrities to Make 30 Million Dollars
According to data compiled by Bubblemaps, Arora launched altcoins on the Pump.fun platform in the names of celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner, Floyd Mayweather, Amber Rose, Sunny Leone, and Iggy Azalea. He secured large payments from these celebrities to share the contract addresses of these altcoins on social media. However, Sahil sold off most of these altcoins immediately after the celebrities tweeted about them and transferred the profits to centralized exchanges.
Bubblemaps discovered that Arora conducted this fraud using more than 40 different crypto wallet addresses. For each altcoin, Sahil held between 25% and 40% of the total supply, consolidated these coins into a main wallet, and then transferred them to centralized exchanges. This tactic enabled Sahil to collect investors’ money and transfer it to his account throughout 2024.
Interestingly, Arora’s actions fall within a legal gray area, making it difficult to pursue legal action. The involvement of celebrities also implies that they could be legally responsible. As a result, neither the celebrities nor the victims have taken legal action against Arora so far.
Pump.fun’s Record Growth May Provide New Opportunities for Fraudsters
Meanwhile, the Pump.fun platform, where Arora’s fraudulent activities took place, has seen significant growth recently. In July, the platform’s contract revenues hit a record high, totaling 28.73 million dollars. Additionally, the platform surpassed the Ethereum Blockchain in daily revenues, earning 5.3 million dollars daily.
Currently, the platform’s practice of charging the initial buyer for altcoin creation and opening doors for fraudsters is under criticism. This raises concerns that it may enable more activities like those of Arora.
