Tron founder Justin Sun has initiated a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the family of former U.S. President Donald Trump, alleging that the company froze his $WLFI token holdings without justification, made false representations, and engaged in threatening behavior. The lawsuit, which mentions Sun's support for Trump, contends that World Liberty's leadership participated in an illegal scheme to seize property, specifically Sun's tokens, which he claims to have purchased after being solicited by the company in 2024. Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens, reportedly due to the project's potential to promote decentralized finance and its association with the Trump family.
A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial declined to comment on the lawsuit. According to the filing, World Liberty requested that Sun continue investing in 2025, including minting the company's USD1 stablecoin. However, when Sun refused to invest on their terms by July 2025, the company's principals allegedly became hostile towards him.
The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty induced Sun to invest through fraudulent misrepresentations about the economic rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens. These misrepresentations supposedly included statements about token holder rights, governance rights, and the freedom to transact. Sun's suit also claims that World Liberty, despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance business, exerted centralized control over its tokens. The complaint states that World Liberty modified the smart contract governing $WLFI in August 2025 to add a 'blacklisting' function, allowing the company to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this change to investors or putting it to a governance vote.
The lawsuit argues that this modification enabled World Liberty to freeze Sun's tokens, serving a dual purpose: pressuring him to mint $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin on the Tron blockchain and manipulating the market price of $WLFI tokens by preventing one of the largest holders from selling. By locking up Sun's position, the complaint argues, World Liberty artificially inflated the market price of $WLFI tokens held by the company's founders and treasury. The lawsuit raises regulatory concerns, suggesting that World Liberty's ability to issue, freeze, and reassign tokens may qualify it as a money transmitter under U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rules, subjecting it to registration and anti-money laundering requirements.
Other allegations include threats made by World Liberty co-founder Chase Herro to burn Sun's $WLFI tokens and to report him to U.S. authorities over allegedly inadequate know-your-customer documentation. Portions of the lawsuit were redacted, with Sun's team offering the World Liberty team the opportunity to decide whether these provisions should remain sealed. In a post, Sun stated that he had attempted to resolve the situation in good faith and sought equal treatment as other early investors.
He also expressed opposition to World Liberty's new governance proposal published on April 15. Since Trump took office, Sun has visited the U.S. and was a guest at a Trump-linked crypto project event.
Recently, Sun settled charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $10 million fine.