Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, has filed a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the Trump family, alleging that the company froze his $WLFI token holdings and made false claims to intimidate him. The lawsuit, which was filed on Tuesday, states that World Liberty's leadership engaged in an 'illegal scheme to seize property' by locking up Sun's tokens, which he had 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 of promoting decentralized finance and its association with the Trump family.
However, when Sun refused to continue investing in 2025, World Liberty's principals became hostile towards him. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty made fraudulent misrepresentations about the economic rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens, including statements about token holder governance rights and the freedom to transact.
The company is also accused of having centralized control over its tokens, despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance business. In August 2025, World Liberty allegedly modified the smart contract governing $WLFI to add a 'blacklisting' function, allowing the company to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this to investors. The complaint claims that World Liberty's actions served a dual purpose: pressuring Sun to mint $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin and manipulating the market price of $WLFI tokens by preventing one of the largest holders from selling.
The lawsuit also raises regulatory concerns, arguing 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. Additionally, the complaint alleges that World Liberty made threats against Sun and his businesses, including a claim that the company would burn Sun's $WLFI tokens if he did not request it. Sun has stated that he tried to resolve the situation in good faith and wants to be treated the same as other early investors who received tokens.