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 illegally froze his $WLFI token holdings and made false representations. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, asserts that World Liberty's leadership engaged in an 'illegal scheme to seize property' by locking up Sun's tokens, which he claims to have purchased after being solicited by the company in 2024. Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens, reportedly due to the project's potential to promote decentralized finance and its association with the Trump family.
A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial declined to comment on the lawsuit. According to the filing, World Liberty requested that Sun continue investing in the project through 2025, including a proposal to mint the company's USD1 stablecoin.
However, when Sun refused to invest on their terms, World Liberty's principals allegedly 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 holder 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 company modified the smart contract governing $WLFI in August 2025 to add a 'blacklisting' function, allowing it to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this change to investors.
The complaint argues that World Liberty's freezing of Sun's tokens served to pressure him into minting $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin and to manipulate the market price of $WLFI tokens. By locking up Sun's position, World Liberty allegedly 'artificially propped up the market price of $WLFI tokens' held by the company's founders and treasury.
The lawsuit raises regulatory questions, suggesting that World Liberty's ability to issue, freeze, and reassign tokens may qualify it as a money transmitter under US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rules. Other allegations include threats made by World Liberty co-founder Chase Herro to burn Sun's $WLFI tokens and to report him to US authorities.
Portions of the lawsuit have been redacted, with Sun's team giving World Liberty the opportunity to decide whether these provisions should remain sealed. In a social media post, Sun stated that he had attempted to resolve the situation in good faith and sought equal treatment as other early investors.
He also expressed opposition to World Liberty's new governance proposal published on April 15.