World Liberty Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Justin Sun Over Alleged Misconduct

A cryptocurrency firm linked to the family of former US President Donald Trump, World Liberty Financial, has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, in a Florida state court. The lawsuit alleges that Sun exhibited 'gross misconduct' related to his purchase of WLFI tokens. This legal action follows a lawsuit filed by Sun against World Liberty in a federal California court, where he claimed the company had unfairly restricted his ability to transfer his WLFI tokens. According to the lawsuit filed by World Liberty, entities associated with Sun allegedly bought WLFI tokens on behalf of other investors through straw purchases and possibly engaged in short-selling the token. World Liberty froze Sun's tokens to 'protect itself and the broader community,' stating that his tweets about the frozen tokens contained false or defamatory information. The company claims Sun hired influencers and used bots to 'amplify his lies,' resulting in lost business opportunities. Significant portions of the lawsuit have been redacted, including details about Sun's token purchase and alleged misconduct. World Liberty alleges that Sun's actions included a 'large, deliberate, short-selling campaign' designed to suppress the price of $WLFI at its public launch, which involved moving $300 million to Binance from Sun-affiliated wallets. Upon discovering these violations, World Liberty exercised its contractual rights to freeze Sun's tokens, a power Sun was aware of prior to his tweets. The lawsuit claims Sun knew about the agreements' terms and the power to restrict token transferability, making his defamatory statements false. The suit seeks damages, expenses, and retraction of Sun's statements.