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Crypto tycoon Justin Sun has sued the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial in the latest escalation of a feud between the firm and one of its biggest backers.
The lawsuit, filed in a California court late Tuesday, alleges that WLF targeted Sun in a “fraudulent scheme” and illegally seized WLFI tokens purchased from the company, which were once worth $1 billion.
The WLF counts US President Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, sons of former US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, among its founders. President Donald Trump has also declared personal income from the venture.
Eric Trump defended the firm on social media on Wednesday, referring to Sun’s purchase of millions of dollars of fruit-based conceptual art that he later ate.
“The only thing more ridiculous than this lawsuit is spending $6 million on a banana taped to the wall,” he posted.
Sun, a billionaire who founded a blockchain company, was one of the biggest public supporters of Trump-related crypto ventures.
According to the lawsuit, shortly after Trump’s re-election in 2024, Sun purchased $45mn of WLFI tokens issued by WLF “due to the Trump family’s association with the project.”
The value of their token increased as popularity grew, but WLFI has since fallen 75 percent from its peak.
The lawsuit says Sun’s “anchor investment” earned him the role as an advisor to the firm. He alleges that his “name and credibility” contributed to the approximately $550mn in token sales by WLF.
Soon after, Sun claims the company began limiting his ability to sell his tokens and used such restrictions to pressure him to increase his investment in the company.
The lawsuit states that WLF “threatened to report him to US criminal authorities if he tried to protect his rights (a pressure tactic that itself qualifies as criminal extortion)”.
WLF chief executive Zach Witkoff said on X that Sun’s “claims are completely baseless, and World Liberty looks forward to resolving this matter immediately”.
“(Sun) engaged in misconduct that caused World Liberty to take action to protect itself and its users,” he said.
Sun also bought at least $100 million of Donald Trump’s MemeCoin, which got him a seat at a dinner with the president.
US securities regulators later settled a fraud case and dropped some charges against Sun, one of several favorable moves for the crypto industry during Trump’s second term.
In recent weeks, Sun has launched a public attack on social media criticizing the WLF’s governance. The WLF has defended itself against the allegations and threatened legal action.
