World Liberty Takes Justin Sun to Court Over Alleged Defamation

A lawsuit has been filed by World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency firm linked to the family of former US President Donald Trump, against Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, in a Florida state court. The lawsuit accuses Sun of "gross misconduct" in relation to his purchase of WLFI tokens. This move comes after Sun had previously filed a lawsuit against World Liberty in a federal court in California, claiming the company had unfairly restricted his ability to transfer his WLFI tokens. According to the lawsuit, entities connected to Sun allegedly bought WLFI tokens on behalf of other investors through straw purchases, and may have engaged in short-selling the token. As a result, World Liberty froze Sun's tokens to protect itself and the wider community. The lawsuit claims that Sun's subsequent tweets about his frozen tokens contained false or defamatory information. It is alleged that Sun hired influencers and used bots to spread these false claims, resulting in lost business opportunities for World Liberty. The lawsuit includes redacted sections describing Sun's purchase of the tokens and his alleged misconduct, which World Liberty claims includes a deliberate short-selling campaign aimed at suppressing the price of $WLFI at its public launch. This alleged campaign involved moving $300 million to Binance through Sun-affiliated wallets. World Liberty claims it was within its contractual rights to freeze Sun's tokens to prevent further harm, and that Sun was aware of this ability before making his tweets. The lawsuit seeks damages, expenses, and a retraction of Sun's statements, alleging defamation.