Crypto billionaire Justin Sun has sued the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial, accusing the project of “criminal extortion.”
The case, brought in a California federal court, alleges that WLFI froze Sun’s digital tokens and blocked him from cashing out a $30 million early bet that he claims could have netted him $276 million.
Sun, who became the project’s first major investor shortly after President Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024, said he remains “an ardent supporter of President Trump and the Trump family” but insisted the suit was necessary.
He alleges that company managers “see the project as a golden opportunity to leverage the Trump brand to profit through fraud.”
WLFI is a governance token allowing holders to vote on aspects of the platform. Early investors were initially barred from selling. An entity tied to Trump and his family holds roughly 38 percent of the company behind World Liberty Financial—while also securing a lucrative slice of the action. That setup entitles them to 75 percent of proceeds from WLFI token sales after costs, plus a cut of the ongoing revenue and interest generated by the project’s stablecoin.
In September, World Liberty Financial said it would permit trading of up to 20 percent of holdings—but Sun’s tokens were allegedly excluded. The company told him that his identity verification information was insufficient and declined to elaborate.
Sun claims the restrictions were retaliatory. He alleges World Liberty Financial wanted him to buy large amounts of its USD1 stablecoin and promote it on his Tron blockchain network—describing retail demand as “underwhelming.”
He said that when he declined, the company moved to limit his ability to transfer or sell his tokens. He had instead invested $100 million in the separate $TRUMP memecoin, making him its largest holder, and attended a VIP dinner with other investors at a Trump golf club.
The lawsuit further alleges that company executive Chase Herro threatened to report Sun to U.S. authorities over the identification issue if he pursued legal action. His lawyers called this “a pressure tactic that itself qualifies as criminal extortion.”
Sun said he attempted to resolve the matter in good faith but was rebuffed. “They have left me with no choice but to turn to the courts,” he said.
World Liberty Financial hit back on social media earlier this month, writing: “Justin’s favorite move is playing the victim while making baseless allegations to cover up his own misconduct. See you in court pal.”
USD1, a dollar-pegged stablecoin whose reserves are invested in Treasury bills, generates income for the company, with roughly $160 million in annual revenue projected from those reserves. The token carries a market value of around $4.2 billion.
At the time of his WLFI investment, Sun was facing fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission. That case was later settled without an admission of wrongdoing. World Liberty Financial has said it does not engage in conflicts of interest.
The White House has previously stated that neither the president nor his family “have ever engaged, or will ever engage, in conflicts of interest.”
The Daily Beast approached WLFI and the White House for comment. The White House referred the Beast to WLFI, whose team referred the Beast to an X post by WLFI co-founder Eric Trump.
“The only thing more ridiculous than this lawsuit is spending $6 million on a banana duct-taped to a wall. We are incredibly proud of the @worldlibertyfi team…” Trump said, nailing Sun for buying a controversial art piece.
They also referred the Beast to an X post by Zach Witkoff, co-founder and CEO at WLFI, and the son of Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Justin Sun’s recent lawsuit against @worldlibertyfi is a desperate attempt to deflect attention from Sun’s own misconduct. His claims are entirely meritless, and World Liberty looks forward to getting the case thrown out promptly,” he wrote, adding, “He engaged in misconduct that required World Liberty to take action to protect itself and its users. World Liberty will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its community.”
