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 froze his $WLFI token holdings without justification, made false representations, and threatened him. The lawsuit claims that World Liberty's actions were part of an 'illegal scheme to seize property' and that the company's leadership engaged in fraudulent behavior. According to the suit, Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens after being solicited by World Liberty in 2024, partly due to the project's association with the Trump family.
However, when Sun declined to continue investing in 2025, World Liberty's principals allegedly became hostile towards him. The lawsuit also alleges that World Liberty made false statements about the rights of token holders and the governance of the $WLFI tokens, and that the company centralized control over the tokens despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance project.
Furthermore, the suit claims that World Liberty modified the smart contract governing $WLFI in August 2025 to add a 'blacklisting' function, which allowed the company to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this change to investors. The complaint argues that this modification was used to freeze Sun's tokens, which served to pressure him into minting $200 million of World Liberty's USD1 stablecoin and to manipulate the market price of $WLFI tokens. The lawsuit raises regulatory concerns, suggesting that World Liberty's actions may qualify it as a money transmitter, subjecting it 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. Sun has stated that he has tried to resolve the situation in good faith and seeks to be treated equally to other early investors who received tokens.