Tron founder Justin Sun has taken legal action against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the Trump family, alleging that the company wrongfully locked up his $WLFI token holdings and made false representations. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, claims that World Liberty's leadership engaged in an 'illegal scheme to seize property' in the form of Sun's tokens, which he purchased after being solicited by the company in 2024.
According to the suit, Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens due to the project's claims about promoting decentralized finance and its association with the Trump family. However, when Sun refused to continue investing in 2025, World Liberty's principals allegedly became hostile towards him.
The company is accused of making fraudulent misrepresentations about the economic rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens, including statements about token holder governance rights and 'freedom to transact.' The lawsuit also alleges that World Liberty has centralized control over its tokens, contrary to its decentralized finance claims. In August 2025, the company modified the smart contract governing $WLFI to add a 'blacklisting' function, allowing it to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this change to investors.
This modification was allegedly used to freeze Sun's tokens, pressuring him to mint $200 million of World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin and manipulating the market price of $WLFI tokens. The complaint argues that World Liberty's actions may qualify it as a money transmitter, subjecting it to registration and anti-money laundering requirements. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that World Liberty made threats against Sun and his businesses, including a threat to burn his $WLFI tokens and report him to U.S.
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.