Former Pump.fun Dev Gets 6-Year Sentence for SOL Theft

• Canadian Jarett Dunn sentenced to six years for stealing $2M SOL from Pump.fun.
• Former developer distributed stolen funds to thousands of random wallet addresses.
• Canadian national pleaded guilty, then attempted to withdraw the plea before sentencing.

Wood Green Crown Court in London sentenced Canadian national Jarett Dunn to six years in prison on Thursday for fraud by abuse of position and transfer of criminal property. Dunn previously worked as a senior developer for meme coin platform Pump.fun before stealing approximately $2 million worth of Solana.

The sentencing occurred more than one year after Dunn siphoned the funds from his employer. The court said Dunn had already served 308 days under electronic tagging, with 154 of those days credited toward his prison sentence. He also served approximately 5 months in prison on remand, which typically counts toward the total sentence time.

Developer Distributed Stolen Funds to Random Wallets

Dunn did not keep the stolen cryptocurrency for personal use but instead distributed funds to thousands of random wallet addresses. He immediately admitted to the crime on social media platforms, gaining a cult-like following with supporters labeling him a “crypto Robin Hood.”

The sentencing process experienced multiple delays and adjournments. Dunn attempted to frame the attack as a whistleblower action, claiming Pump.fun operated as a malicious site and he aimed to warn users. The judge appeared unsympathetic to this argument, as reflected in the final verdict.

Dunn Initially Worked as a Pump.fun Senior Developer

Pump.fun operates as a platform allowing users to create cryptocurrency tokens within seconds after completing a short form. Dunn had worked as a senior developer for six weeks before the incident. At the time, Pump.fun had generated $43.9 million in lifetime revenue according to Dune data. This figure has since grown to $927.2 million.

Mark Kelly, a friend attending the sentencing, characterized the verdict as “depressing.” Kelly stated that prosecutors dismissed the whistleblower framing as “post-arrest spin.” He noted that Dunn’s social media confessions gave the prosecution an easy case.

“Everybody be cool, this is a robbery… I’m about to change the course of history. [And] then rot in jail,” Dunn posted on X minutes after the attack. He joined an X Spaces session, stating he wanted to “kill” Pump.fun because “it’s something to do” and alleged that the platform “inadvertently hurt people for a long time.”

Police arrested Dunn four days after the attack at a London hotel near the WeWork location where Pump.fun operated. Authorities determined him unfit for a police interview and hospitalized him for two weeks to address mental health concerns after spending months off medication. Dunn pleaded guilty in August 2024 before attempting to withdraw the plea two months later during sentencing. This reversal led to his legal team quitting the case.

Related: CoinGecko: Top 10 Countries Interested in Meme Coins Led by The U.S.