World Liberty Financial Files Defamation Lawsuit Against Justin Sun

World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance company launched in 2024 and backed by the Trump sons, filed a defamation lawsuit against crypto billionaire Justin Sun in Miami-Dade County state court on Monday. The filing comes days after Sun sued the company for fraud in California federal court on April 21, 2026.

Sun alleged that World Liberty Financial attempted to pressure him into investing hundreds of millions of dollars more into its USD1 stablecoin and froze his holdings when he refused.

In its complaint, World Liberty Financial stated that Sun orchestrated a smear campaign against the company after it froze his assets. The company reported discovering late last year that Sun was allegedly violating investment terms, including making unauthorized transfers of tokens to Binance, conducting straw purchases on behalf of undisclosed third parties, and engaging in suspected short-selling of the $WLFI token despite contractual prohibitions.

Sun's entity, Blue Anthem, began investing $30 million in $WLFI tokens starting in November 2024, eventually reaching a total of $45 million, and he received additional tokens for taking a board seat.

Financial alleged that Sun publicly praised the project as one of the biggest in crypto while secretly betting against it as part of the scheme. The company stated that Sun demanded hundreds of millions of dollars in a payout to stay quiet, and after refusal, he published claims on April 12, 2026, in English and Mandarin Chinese.

Those posts received roughly 4 million views and led to major media coverage, according to the complaint. As a result, at least one business deal collapsed, including a potential partnership with Native Market that the other party abandoned.

“Rather than acting in good faith, Justin Sun chose to defame World Liberty — repeatedly, publicly, and to millions of followers," said Tom Clare, an attorney representing World Liberty Financial (New York Post).”

The complaint argued that Sun knew his claims were false because he had signed agreements acknowledging the company's right to freeze tokens and had publicly praised the project afterward. World Liberty Financial is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as a court order requiring Sun to retract all related posts.

" The company has drawn scrutiny for its ties to the Trump administration. Among its co-founders is Zach Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East. Sun did not immediately respond to a request for comment.