Controversial Tron founder Justin Sun has filed a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial ($WLFI), accusing the Trump-linked firm of illegally freezing his $WLFI tokens.
The partially redacted lawsuit, filed in a California court, accuses $WLFI of various breaches of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentations, and conversion regarding $45 million worth of $WLFI.
Today, I filed a lawsuit in California federal court against World Liberty Financial to protect my legal rights as a holder of $WLFI tokens.
I have always been—and remain—an ardent supporter of President Trump and his Administration’s efforts to make America crypto friendly.…
— H.E. Justin Sun 👨🚀 🌞 (@justinsuntron) April 22, 2026
The legal action has already caught the attention of Sameer Group LLC, the US, India and United Arab Emirates-based investment firm that invested $25 million in $WLFI’s ICO pre-sale.
Its CEO, Syed Sameer, claimed the firm is “ready and willing to broker a fair resolution to [Sun’s] situation and have your tokens unlocked,” adding that his UAE institutional partners will work to avoid “a lengthy litigation process.”
Sun claims that he’s already attempted to persuade $WLFI to unfreeze his tokens, and said that it left him “with no choice but to turn to the courts.”
“All I want is to be treated the same as every other early investor who received tokens — no better, no worse,” Sun posted on X.
Lawsuit says $WLFI tried to extort Justin Sun into investing more
Sun’s lawsuit claims that “World Liberty’s operators, including Chase Herro, see [$WLFI] as a golden opportunity to leverage the Trump brand to profit through fraud.”
One heavily redacted section claims $WLFI extorted plaintiffs, and that it attempted to use “plaintiffs’ property rights as a bargaining chip to extort Mr. Sun into providing additional capital for World Liberty.”
The Trump family are key to World Liberty Financial’s brand. Donald Trump is listed as the firm’s “chief crypto advocate,” while his sons Eric, Donald Jr, and Barron are listed as co-founders.
They were previously web3 ambassadors.
As such, the lawsuit threatens the relationship Sun has struck with the Trump administration over the years. Sun’s statements reflect this as he tries to appease Trump.
Sun stressed that he remains an “ardent supporter” of the president, and that the lawsuit “does not change how I feel about President Trump or the Trump Administration.”
ANALYSIS: Eric and Donald Trump Jr. are cashing in on crypto
Another allegation claims that Sun was unfairly locked out of governance votes on $WLFI’s company changes after it froze and refroze his tokens through a secret “blacklisting” smart contract update.
Sun is also worried that $WLFI will carry out alleged threats to burn his tokens through another governance proposal that he can’t vote on.
The lawsuit includes claims that $WLFI made several defamatory statements towards Sun, accusing him of theft and misappropriating tokens.
However, the lawsuit clarifies that these defamation claims are separate from the legal allegations and that Sun may initiate separate proceedings regarding $WLFI’s alleged false and defamatory statements.
Justin Sun’s lawsuit seeks relief in the form of a restraining order that would bar $WLFI from ever “seizing, burning, destroying, or encumbering any of Plaintiffs’ $WLFI tokens.”
