Burwick Law Files Consumer-Protection Class Action Over $AI16Z and $ELIZAOS Tokens — Doe v. Walters (S.D.N.Y.)
Federal Lawsuit Targets Shaw Walters, Eliza Labs, Inc., the ai16z DAO, and Affiliated Promoters on Behalf of $AI16Z and $ELIZAOS Token Buyers
Burwick Law filed a federal class action lawsuit on April 22, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Shaw Walters, Eliza Labs, Inc., Sebastian Quinn-Watson, the ai16z DAO, DAOs.fun, Jeff Wolcott (a/k/a "Whobody"), "Skely," and "Baoskee." According to the complaint, Defendants designed, marketed, and operated the AI16Z crypto project, which they later rebranded as ElizaOS, and promoted its $AI16Z and $ELIZAOS tokens as the governance token of an autonomous, AI-managed venture fund modeled on Andreessen Horowitz. The action asserts claims under New York General Business Law §§ 349 and 350, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment, and seeks damages, restitution, and class certification on behalf of all buyers of $AI16Z or $ELIZAOS tokens beginning October 24, 2024.
The $AI16Z token launched on the Solana blockchain on October 24, 2024 and reached a peak market capitalization of approximately $2.5 billion on January 2, 2025. After Andreessen Horowitz forced a rebrand on January 28, 2025, the project migrated $AI16Z to $ELIZAOS between September and November 2025, expanding supply from 1.1 billion to 11 billion tokens. On-chain data reflects losses across at least 3,945 wallets, with total class harm believed to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The complaint alleges that Defendants falsely marketed the project as governed by an autonomous AI agent when it was in fact controlled by Walters and other insiders, appropriated Andreessen Horowitz's brand to manufacture the false impression of institutional endorsement, and concealed insider holdings, planned token-supply expansions, and coordinated insider trading. According to the complaint, buyers were harmed when they purchased tokens at artificially inflated prices, including through a December 2024 aiPool presale that raised approximately $4.72 million from retail purchasers and a 2025 token migration that diluted existing holders by allocating 40% of newly minted tokens to Defendant-controlled entities. Burwick Law is investigating on behalf of affected $AI16Z and $ELIZAOS buyers.
Burwick Law is a leading crypto litigation firm specializing in digital asset fraud, token losses, and memecoin class actions. Founded and led by Max Burwick, a U.S. Navy veteran and rescue swimmer, the firm represents over 4,000 clients nationwide. Burwick Law currently serves as lead counsel in several of the most high-profile crypto lawsuits in the country, including the Hawk Tuah meme coin case, the LIBRA token class action, and a RICO lawsuit against Solana-based memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, which the firm alleges operated as an unregistered securities platform and illegal casino.
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