Tron founder Justin Sun has initiated a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the Trump family, alleging that the company unfairly froze his $WLFI token holdings and engaged in fraudulent activities. The lawsuit, filed recently, claims that World Liberty's leadership participated in an 'illegal scheme to seize property' by locking up Sun's tokens, which he had purchased after being solicited by the company in 2024. Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens, reportedly due to the project's association with the Trump family and its claims of promoting decentralized finance. However, when Sun declined to continue investing in 2025, including a request to mint World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin, the company's principals allegedly became hostile towards him.
The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty made false statements about the rights of token holders and the governance of $WLFI, and that the company exerted centralized control over its tokens despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance business. World Liberty modified the smart contract governing $WLFI in August 2025, adding a 'blacklisting' function that allowed the company to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this change to investors. The complaint argues that this modification enabled World Liberty to artificially manipulate the market price of $WLFI tokens and pressure Sun into minting $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin on the Tron blockchain. The lawsuit also claims 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.
Additionally, the complaint alleges that World Liberty made threats against Sun and his businesses, including a claim that the company's co-founder, Chase Herro, threatened to burn Sun's $WLFI tokens and report him to U.S. authorities. Sun has stated that he attempted to resolve the situation amicably and seeks to be treated equally to other early investors who received tokens.