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 engaged in fraudulent activities and froze his $WLFI token holdings without justification. The lawsuit claims that World Liberty's leadership participated in an illegal scheme to seize Sun's tokens, which he had purchased after being approached by the company in 2024.
According to the filing, Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens due to the project's potential to promote decentralized finance and its association with the Trump family. However, when Sun declined to continue investing in 2025, World Liberty's attitude towards him became hostile. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty made false representations about the rights and freedoms associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens, including statements about governance rights and the ability to transact freely.
It is also claimed that the company exerted centralized control over its tokens, contrary to its decentralized finance claims. In August 2025, World Liberty modified the smart contract governing $WLFI to introduce a 'blacklisting' function, allowing the company to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this change to investors.
The complaint argues that this modification enabled World Liberty to pressure Sun into minting $200 million of its USD1 stablecoin and manipulate the market price of $WLFI tokens. Furthermore, the lawsuit alleges that World Liberty's actions may have regulatory implications, potentially qualifying the company 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, against Sun and his businesses. The lawsuit has been filed after attempts to resolve the situation amicably, with Sun seeking equal treatment as other early investors who received tokens.