Crypto Firm World Liberty Financial Sues Investor Justin Sun Over Alleged Smear Campaign

Financial, a cryptocurrency firm established by the Trump and Witkoff families, filed a lawsuit accusing Justin Sun, a billionaire investor and founder of the TRON blockchain, of orchestrating a smear campaign against the company. According to the suit, Sun invested $30 million in the firm's WLFI token in November 2024, positioning himself as its largest backer at the time.

Two years later, the company alleges Sun violated his investor agreement by shorting the token, which would allow him to profit from a decline in its value. In response to the alleged shorting, World Liberty Financial froze Sun's assets within the platform.

The suit states that Sun then threatened to publicly criticize the company to his millions of online followers unless his holdings were unlocked. When the company refused, Sun proceeded to post criticisms online, including claims that the firm had features enabling it to seize users' digital assets without notice or recourse.

Tom Clare, an attorney for World Liberty Financial, stated in a press release that Sun defamed the company repeatedly and publicly to millions of followers. He added that the lawsuit was filed as a last resort to correct the record and protect token holders, employees, and stakeholders.

The company expressed eagerness to expose the falsity of Sun's statements in court. Zach Witkoff, associated with the firm, posted on X that Sun engaged in a defamatory campaign knowing his claims were false, aiming to harm WLFI token holders. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

amplified a company thread on X, which accused Sun of a coordinated media smear campaign and noted that he refused to stop even when confronted with the truth. The suit further alleges Sun used fake social media bot accounts to amplify his claims, including a post viewed over 2 million times where he warned users to stay away from the organization.

Sun had previously praised World Liberty Financial online, describing it as one of the biggest and most important projects in crypto and stating he was fully aligned with its mission. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission previously accused Sun of selling unregistered securities, market manipulation, and paying celebrities to promote products without disclosures.

That case resulted in a $10 million settlement earlier this year, though Sun denied wrongdoing. The lawsuit highlights Sun's post claiming the company's conduct eroded community trust and called for unlocking tokens to uphold transparency. World Liberty Financial maintains that Sun's actions were intended to tank the token he was betting against.

The case is set to proceed in court, where the company aims to present evidence against Sun's statements.