Tron's 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 had unjustly locked his $WLFI token holdings and engaged in fraudulent activities. The lawsuit, which mentions Sun's support for Trump, claims that World Liberty's leadership participated in an 'illegal scheme to seize property' in the form of Sun's tokens, which he purchased after being solicited by the company in 2024. Sun invested $45 million in $WLFI tokens, partly due to the project's association with the Trump family and its claims of promoting decentralized finance, a cause Sun deeply cares about.
A spokesperson for World Liberty Financial declined to comment on the lawsuit. According to the filing, 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 USD1 on their terms, World Liberty's principals became hostile towards him. The lawsuit alleges that World Liberty induced Sun to invest through fraudulent misrepresentations about the economic rights and liberties associated with purchasing $WLFI tokens.
These misrepresentations include statements about token holders' rights, public statements by World Liberty or its executives about governance rights, and claims about the 'freedom to transact.' Sun's suit also alleges that World Liberty, despite presenting itself as a decentralized finance business, had 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 change to investors.
This modification was not put to a governance vote, and token holders had just approved a proposal to make a portion of the supply tradable. The lawsuit claims that World Liberty's freezing of Sun's tokens served a dual purpose: pressuring him to mint $200 million of the company's USD1 stablecoin on his Tron blockchain and manipulating $WLFI's market price by preventing one of the largest holders from selling. 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 corporate treasury. The complaint also raises regulatory questions, suggesting that World Liberty's ability to issue, freeze, and reassign tokens may qualify the firm as a money transmitter under U.S.
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rules, subjecting it to registration and anti-money laundering requirements. Other allegations include threats made by World Liberty's co-founder, Chase Herro, to burn Sun's $WLFI tokens and falsely claiming that Sun's know-your-customer documentation was inadequate, threatening to report him to U.S. authorities.
Sun stated on social media 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. He also expressed opposition to World Liberty's new governance proposal published on April 15.
Recently, Sun settled charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $10 million fine to resolve a case brought by the previous presidential administration.