Tron founder Justin Sun has taken legal action against World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm with ties to the family of former US President Donald Trump, alleging that the company froze his $WLFI token holdings, made false representations, and threatened him. The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, states that World Liberty's leaders engaged in an 'illegal scheme to seize property' in the form of Sun's tokens, which he claims to have purchased after being solicited by the company in 2024. According to the lawsuit, Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens due to the project's claims of promoting decentralized finance, an issue Sun cares deeply about, as well as the Trump family's involvement with the project.
A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial declined to comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty asked Sun to continue investing in 2025, including a request to mint the company's USD1 stablecoin. However, when it became clear that Sun would not invest or mint the stablecoin on their terms, World Liberty's principals 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, governance 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 complaint states that World Liberty modified the smart contract governing $WLFI in August 2025 to add a 'blacklisting' function, allowing the company to freeze tokens in specific wallets without disclosing this to investors.
The lawsuit claims 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, the complaint argues, World Liberty 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, subjecting it to registration and anti-money laundering requirements. Other allegations in the complaint include threats made by World Liberty's co-founder, Chase Herro, to burn Sun's $WLFI tokens and to report him to US authorities. Portions of the lawsuit were redacted, with Sun's team giving World Liberty the opportunity to decide whether these provisions should remain sealed. In a post, Sun stated that he had tried to resolve the situation in good faith and wants to be treated the same as other early investors who received tokens.
Sun also expressed opposition to World Liberty's new governance proposal published on April 15. The lawsuit comes after Sun settled charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last month, agreeing to pay a $10 million fine to resolve a case brought by the previous presidential administration.