Tron founder Justin Sun has taken legal action against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the family of former US President Donald Trump, claiming that the company froze his $WLFI token holdings without justification, made false representations, and defamed him. The lawsuit, which was filed recently, claims that World Liberty's leadership engaged in an illegal scheme to seize Sun's tokens, which he purchased after being approached by the company's team in 2024.
Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens, reportedly due to the project's claims of promoting decentralized finance and its association with the Trump family. However, when Sun declined to continue investing in 2025, including a request to mint the company's USD1 stablecoin, World Liberty's principals allegedly became hostile towards him. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty made fraudulent misrepresentations about the rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens, including statements about token holder rights and the freedom to transact. It is also claimed that the company has centralized control over its tokens, despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance business.
According to the complaint, 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 disclosure to investors. This modification was allegedly used to freeze Sun's tokens, serving the dual purpose of pressuring him to mint $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin and manipulating the market price of $WLFI tokens.
The lawsuit further alleges that World Liberty's actions may have regulatory implications, potentially qualifying the firm as a money transmitter subject to registration and anti-money laundering requirements. Other allegations include threats made by World Liberty's co-founder, Chase Herro, to burn Sun's $WLFI tokens and report him to US authorities. Sun has stated that he attempted to resolve the situation in good faith and seeks to be treated equally to other early investors who received tokens.