Billionaire Investor Accuses Trump-linked Venture of Strong-arm Tactics

BBC, CBS News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Financial Times, Bloomberg, and Forbes contributed to this report.

A high-profile crypto partnership has turned into a courtroom fight – and it’s getting messy fast.

Justin Sun, the billionaire behind the TRON blockchain, is suing World Liberty Financial, a project tied to Donald Trump and his son Eric Trump. The accusation: an “illegal scheme” to seize his crypto holdings and pressure him for more cash.

Sun says the company froze his WLFI tokens – at one point worth north of $1 billion – after he refused to pour additional money into the business. According to the lawsuit, he’s now locked out completely: can’t trade, can’t vote on governance decisions, can’t do much of anything with his stake.

Worse, he claims the firm threatened to “burn” his tokens altogether, effectively wiping them out.

“They wrongfully froze all of my tokens… and stripped me of my rights,” Sun wrote in a post announcing the suit.

He insists he still backs Trump and his broader crypto stance, but says certain figures inside the project are running things in a way that doesn’t match the president’s message.

World Liberty isn’t backing down. The company fired back, calling the lawsuit baseless and accusing Sun of trying to distract from his own behavior. CEO Zach Witkoff said the firm acted to protect itself and its users, while suggesting Sun had crossed a line behind the scenes.

The dispute cuts deep because Sun wasn’t just another investor. He was one of the project’s biggest financial backers, pumping in tens of millions early on and tying his support directly to the Trump name. He even doubled down elsewhere, buying $100 million worth of Trump-themed meme coins last year.

Now he’s arguing that brand was part of the pitch – and part of the problem.

In court filings, Sun claims World Liberty used its Trump ties to attract investors while quietly tightening control behind the scenes. Promises about decentralization and future trading opportunities, he says, didn’t match reality. While other holders can trade WLFI tokens, he alleges he’s been singled out and blocked.

The timing isn’t great for the project either. The token’s price has slid sharply since launch, and there are growing concerns about how the company is financing itself, including borrowing against its own crypto.

There’s also political noise in the background. Elizabeth Warren has raised questions about whether regulatory scrutiny around Sun softened because of his ties to Trump’s crypto ventures. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently backed off its investigation into him, adding another layer of intrigue.

Meanwhile, the broader Trump business orbit is dealing with its own headaches. Shares of Trump Media have been sliding, and leadership changes are already underway.

As for Sun, he’s framing the lawsuit as a last resort after trying to resolve things privately. World Liberty sees it as a distraction tactic.

Either way, a partnership built on hype, money, and political branding has fractured – and now both sides are digging in.