A surprising new filing has appeared on the docket of the XRP lawsuit between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs, promising what its author calls “decisive evidence” in favor of the defendants and broader “liberty for the American people.”
FOX Business journalist Eleanor Terrett broke the news via X. “An odd filing just now in the SEC vs. Ripple docket — an emergency request to ‘present decisive evidence in favor of the defendants and in favor of liberty for the American people,’” she wrote. Terrett noted that the letter was filed by a man named Justin W. Koerner.
According to Terrett, Koerner “doesn’t make clear what the so-called ‘decisive evidence’ is or how it would benefit Ripple but hints it has something to do with physical investment contracts he’s been collecting. Looking further into Keener, it looks the SEC recently sued him for being an unregistered penny stock dealer for which a court has ordered him to pay over $10M.”
XRP Lawsuit Rocked By This Emergency Filing
Dated April 2, 2025, the letter is addressed to the US District Judge Analisa Torres. In it, Koerner describes himself as the owner of “what is likely the only curated investment contract collection known,” adding that his initial motive for collecting these documents was “for purposes of deeper research.”
He claims that the information found within these tangible contracts has the potential to shed light on crucial aspects of securities law—something he believes “would be of tremendous interest and value to the defendants and the broader crypto industry.”
Koerner further declares he is “uniquely positioned, exceptionally qualified, and deeply educated on these matters.” Emphasizing that his intent is not only to help Ripple but to champion what he calls “liberty for the American people,” he requests permission from the Court to submit a portion of this proprietary data.
According to the filing: “If permitted, we will select and submit a portion of data, information, and analysis generated by our system, The Mainframe. This would perhaps total five to 10 pages in a casual format that could be quickly reviewed and understood. It would include some definitions, summaries, bullet points, images, articles, publications, and the like. All certified and real – overall bulletproof.”
He also underlines that while he appreciates the unusual nature of his request at this late stage of the litigation, his material is “believed to be decisive evidence never presented before.” In Koerner’s view, the critical distinction lies in the physical possession of vintage investment contracts that “disappeared 50 to 60 years ago,” enabling him to glean a “crystal clear” understanding of securities definitions, the Howey Test, and the 1933–1934 Acts.
Koerner’s filing arrives just as the long-running XRP lawsuit appears close to resolution. Two weeks ago, the SEC dropped its appeal against Ripple’s previous court victory. Ripple, for its part, agreed to pay a reduced fine of $50 million—a sharp decline from the initially discussed $125 million—while the SEC has committed to returning the remaining $75 million. Both parties have withdrawn their respective appeals, and the SEC has requested the Court lift an injunction on Ripple’s future institutional sales. All of these measures await final sign-off from Judge Torres.
Koerner’s letter references the staggering legal costs incurred by Ripple—by his estimate, at least $175 million in defense fees alone, with a potential additional $50 million to be paid as part of its newly revealed settlement—calling the combined sum “not less than $225,000,000 by rough/low estimates.”
Koerner also highlights his own substantial financial burden, having spent approximately $15 million on legal defense in his own SEC matter. He asserts that his personal research on the definition of a security, shaped by “20+ years of experience with investing in several hundred companies,” might be a vital key to resolving “10 years of nightmarish chaos.”
At press time, XRP traded at $2.0671.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
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