Billionaire Justin Sun Sues Trump's Crypto Firm Over Alleged Extortion and Token Freeze

Billionaire investor Justin Sun has filed a lawsuit against the Trump family's World Liberty Financial crypto venture, accusing it of an illegal scheme to seize his WLFI tokens. Sun alleges that the firm, co-founded by former US President Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump, has frozen all of his tokens, stripped him of his voting rights on governance issues, and threatened to permanently destroy them by 'burning' them without justification.

Sun, a prominent figure in the crypto space and founder of the multi-billion dollar TRON project, initially invested $45 million in World Liberty, with his WLFI tokens at times valued at over $1 billion. He claims his backing was driven by the Trump family's association and his support for cryptocurrencies, noting he also purchased $100 million of Trump's meme coins in July 2025.

World Liberty's co-founders include Donald Trump and Eric Trump

In his complaint filed in a San Francisco federal court, Sun argued that initial promises to allow token-holders to trade the currency were false and misleading. While other tokens became tradeable, Sun says World Liberty has blocked him from selling any and is now threatening to burn his holdings. He alleges that those running the venture, including co-founder Chase Herro, are using it as a golden opportunity to leverage the Trump brand for fraudulent profit.

World Liberty has denied wrongdoing, with co-founder Zach Witkoff, son of Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, calling the lawsuit a desperate attempt to deflect attention from Sun's own misconduct. Witkoff stated that Sun's claims are meritless and that World Liberty took action to protect itself and its users from Sun's alleged misconduct.

Since September, the price of a single WLFI token has plunged from 31 cents to just under 8 cents, adding financial pressure to the dispute. Sun maintains that certain individuals associated with World Liberty are acting against Trump's values, despite his support for the president's crypto stance.