Sun Yuchen sues Trump’s family World Liberty Financial: alleges it froze $1 billion in tokens, applying pressure to inject USD1

Crypto entrepreneur and Tron founder Justin Sun (Justin Sun) filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court in California on 4/22 (Tuesday) against the Trump family’s DeFi project, World Liberty Financial (WLF). The lawsuit alleges that the company illegally froze the $WLFI tokens he held and pressured him to inject “hundreds of millions of dollars” into the WLF stablecoin USD1. Sun invested a total of $45 million in WLF in 2024. According to the complaint details compiled by CBS News, the book value of the frozen tokens could be as high as $1 billion.

Investment timeline and frozen amount

Item Content Filing date April 22, 2026 Court U.S. Federal Court, Northern District of California Sun’s investment amount $45 million (purchased in 2024 $WLFI) Book value of frozen tokens up to approximately $1 billion $WLFI drop since 9/1 approximately 25% WLF total fundraising approximately $550 million (with $22 million already raised before Sun’s investment in the first month)

Core allegations: blacklisting rights and pressure to inject USD1

Sun’s complaint mainly alleges that:

After Sun refused to continue funding, WLF “illegally froze” the $WLFI tokens he held

The company secretly changed the token transfer contract rules, creating “blacklisting power” over token holders

In the absence of “governance proposals” and “token-holder voting procedures,” the contract was modified unilaterally

WLF pressured Sun to inject “hundreds of millions of dollars” into its stablecoin USD1

Sun also mentioned that he had borrowed at least $75 million in stablecoins, making the situation more complicated

Sun’s complaint also describes how WLF executives (excluding the Trump family) treated the company as “a golden opportunity to use the Trump brand and profit through fraud.” Notably, Sun specifically excluded the Trump family from the direct allegations and instead pointed the finger at CEO Zach Witkoff and co-founder Chase Herro.

WLF’s counterattack: “completely baseless”

WLF CEO Zach Witkoff responded that Sun’s claims were “entirely baseless,” and described the lawsuit as a desperate attempt by Sun to “shift the focus and cover up his own misconduct.” Eric Trump, the son of Trump, said in a statement: “The only thing more ridiculous than Sun spending $6 million to buy a banana in this lawsuit.” (This alludes to Sun’s past behavior at an art auction.)

Background: the Trump family and WLF’s structure

World Liberty Financial was established in 2024, with Donald Trump, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. listed as co-founders, and Zach Witkoff (the son of Steve Witkoff) serving as CEO. WLF is one of the business vehicles with the deepest involvement of the Trump family in cryptocurrency, and the $WLFI governance token and the USD1 stablecoin it issues correspond to governance voting and payment uses, respectively.

The significance of this lawsuit goes beyond a dispute between money between the two sides:

This is the first federal lawsuit brought by a well-known figure in the crypto industry against the current president’s family’s crypto business (earlier, Justin Sun had publicly criticized WLF’s plan to lock up tokens until after Trump leaves office)

The allegations of “secretly changing the contract” and “blacklisting power” touch on a core issue of transparency in DeFi project governance

The capital structure of the issuer of the USD1 stablecoin and Sun’s allegations will enter the evidence disclosure process, which could lead to other lawsuits

The outcome of the case will affect the pace of the Trump family’s future business expansion in the crypto industry

This story is still developing—since the lawsuit has just been filed and WLF has not yet submitted an answer, the schedule for discovery and an initial hearing will determine the legal timeline for the coming months. Points to watch next include whether members of the Trump family will be added as co-defendants, whether the timing of WLF contract changes can be reconstructed from on-chain data, and whether the actual reserve structure behind USD1 will be disclosed in court documents.

This article, Justin Sun sues the Trump family World Liberty Financial: accusing it of freezing a $1 billion token and pressuring an injection of USD1, first appeared on Chain News ABMedia.