Tron's founder, Justin Sun, has taken legal action against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the Trump family, claiming that the company wrongly locked up his $WLFI token holdings and engaged in deceptive practices. The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, asserts that World Liberty's leadership participated in an 'illegal scheme to seize property' by freezing Sun's tokens, which he claimed to have purchased after being approached by the company's team in 2024. According to the lawsuit, Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens due to the project's potential to promote decentralized finance, an issue he is passionate about, as well as its connection to the Trump family.
A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial declined to comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty asked Sun to continue investing in 2025, including a request to mint the company's USD1 stablecoin. However, when it became clear that Sun would not invest or mint USD1 on their terms, World Liberty's principals became hostile towards him.
The lawsuit claims that World Liberty made fraudulent misrepresentations about the economic rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens, including statements about token holders' rights and the freedom to transact. Sun's suit also alleges that World Liberty, despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance business, has 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. The lawsuit argues that World Liberty's freezing of Sun's tokens served a dual purpose: to pressure him into minting $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin on his Tron blockchain and to manipulate $WLFI's market price by preventing one of the largest holders from selling.
By locking up Sun's position, the complaint argues, World Liberty artificially propped up the market price of $WLFI tokens held by the company's founders and corporate treasury. The lawsuit also 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 in the complaint include threats made by World Liberty's 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 giving World Liberty 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 wanted to be treated the same as other early investors who received tokens.
He also expressed opposition to World Liberty's new governance proposal published on April 15. Recently, Sun settled charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $10 million fine to resolve a case brought by the previous presidential administration.