World Liberty Financial Sues Justin Sun for Defamation Over Token Dispute

TLDR

• World Liberty Financial, the Trump family crypto firm, sued Justin Sun on Monday for defamation
• Sun allegedly short sold WLFI tokens to suppress their price and made straw purchases on behalf of other investors
• Sun had previously sued World Liberty in April, claiming the company illegally froze his tokens
• World Liberty says Sun launched a “public smear campaign” on X after it refused to unfreeze his holdings
• Sun invested around $75 million in World Liberty in 2024, including purchases of the TRUMP meme coin

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World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform co-founded by President Donald Trump and his family, has filed a federal lawsuit against billionaire crypto investor Justin Sun, accusing him of defamation and token misconduct.

The lawsuit was filed Monday. It follows a legal action Sun himself launched against World Liberty in April, in which he accused the company of unlawfully freezing his tokens and blocking his voting rights.

Sun first invested $30 million in World Liberty in November 2024. His investment helped keep the platform running and covered operating expenses. He then invested at least $45 million more, bringing his total to around $75 million.

World Liberty now alleges that Sun, while invested in the platform, engaged in short selling of its WLFI tokens in order to push the price down. The company also accuses him of making straw purchases, meaning he bought WLFI tokens on behalf of other investors using his own entities.

After World Liberty moved to freeze Sun’s tokens over these alleged violations, Sun reportedly demanded access be restored. When the company refused, it says Sun turned to social media.

Sun’s Posts on X

World Liberty says those posts were false and damaging. The lawsuit claims Sun’s statements hurt the company’s reputation and cost it business opportunities.

World Liberty says its right to freeze tokens was publicly disclosed and was part of its agreements with Sun from the start.

The Legal Cases

Sun’s April lawsuit is still pending. It asks for a jury trial, monetary damages, and for his WLFI tokens to be unfrozen.

World Liberty’s new lawsuit also asks for a jury trial and an undisclosed amount in damages. Both cases could take months or years to reach a resolution.

Sun’s attorney had not responded to a request for comment as of Monday.

Sun is the founder of the Tron blockchain, which he launched in 2017. Forbes estimates his net worth at $8.5 billion, ranking him 412th on its global rich list.

World Liberty Financial launched in 2024. It describes itself as a decentralized finance platform inspired by Donald Trump. Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Barron Trump were all involved in founding the venture.

The Securities and Exchange Commission had previously been investigating Sun for alleged securities fraud. That case was settled, and other investigations into crypto platforms connected to Sun were also dropped.

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