Trump Family Sucked Into Legal Battle With Billionaire Suing Them for ‘Extortion’
Justin Sun has already filed a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial to demand the release of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency he owns.
World Liberty Financial—a cryptocurrency firm co-founded by Donald Trump and his sons—has filed a counterclaim for defamation against a billionaire who accuses the project of engaging in extortion.
World Liberty Financial—which enjoys Trump’s backing—accuses crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun of attempting to launch a “coordinated media smear campaign” aimed at “destroying” the crypto community’s trust in World Liberty and “causing the collapse” of the price of its eponymous digital currency.
Justin Sun had filed a lawsuit against World Liberty Financial in April, alleging that the company had illegally frozen WLFI digital tokens worth tens of millions of dollars and prevented him from selling his holdings—actions that could result in losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
In a post shared in April on the platform X (formerly Twitter), Justin Sun accused WLFI of implementing hidden controls via “backdoors,” allowing it to “treat the crypto community like a personal ATM.”
Today, World Liberty Financial filed a defamation lawsuit against Justin Sun in a Florida court, accusing him of making prohibited digital currency transfers, purchasing tokens on behalf of other investors, and engaging in short selling.
The company further asserted that Justin Sun was fully aware of the company’s right to freeze users’ digital assets. In a statement posted on X, WLFI declared: “When World Liberty exercised its right to freeze these tokens in order to protect the ecosystem, Justin Sun did not seek a good-faith resolution; instead, he launched a coordinated smear campaign.” »
World Liberty Financial further alleged that the Chinese-born billionaire had weaponized his “wealth and influence” within the sector by engaging influencers and utilizing fake social media bots to “amplify his lies.”
The complaint adds: “His actions were coordinated, deliberate, and aimed at burning World Liberty to the ground,”
In a statement of his own, Justin Sun characterized the defamation lawsuit filed against him as a “mere publicity stunt devoid of any factual basis.”
He added: “I stand by my actions and my position, and I look forward to refuting these allegations and prevailing in court.”
At the time of Justin Sun’s investment in the WLFI token, the latter was under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on suspicion of market manipulation. The case involving Sun—who was a prominent buyer of World Liberty Financial’s cryptocurrency—was settled in March, without him admitting any wrongdoing.
Sun is also known for having spent $6.2 million to acquire a work of art consisting of a banana taped to a wall, before immediately eating said banana.
Eric Trump, the son of the former president, had previously launched a scathing attack against the “extortion” lawsuit filed by Sun’s company against station WLFI. He stated: “The only thing more ridiculous than this lawsuit is spending $6 million on a banana taped to a wall.”
