Billionaire Sues Trump-Linked Crypto Firm, Alleges 'Extortion' — Eric Trump Mocks His $6M Banana Art Purchase

Tron founder Justin Sun sued World Liberty Financial in a California federal court on 21 April, alleging breach of contract, fraud and extortion after the Trump family-backed crypto venture froze his portfolio of 4 billion WLFI tokens, worth roughly $320 million (£252 million) based on the latest token price, as per Reuters.

Sun purchased approximately $45 million (£35 million) worth of WLFI governance tokens, around 3 billion, between November 2024 and January 2025. The project then granted him an additional 1 billion tokens in connection with an advisory role, according to the lawsuit.

World Liberty Financial is a decentralised finance platform launched in late 2024, with Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. serving as co-founders alongside Zach Witkoff and entrepreneur Chase Herro.

Sun Accuses World Liberty Financial of 'Extortion'

According to the complaint, World Liberty Financial blacklisted Sun's crypto wallet in September 2025 after he tried to move some of his WLFI holdings. The company pointed to gaps in his identity verification but gave no further explanation, the filing states.

Sun's lawyers said the freeze had nothing to do with compliance. The suit claims World Liberty Financial repeatedly pressured him to invest further - including demands that he commit $200 million (£157 million) to mint its USD1 stablecoin and promote it on his TRON blockchain. When Sun refused, the company allegedly locked his holdings, ABC News wrote.

Sun's complaint goes further. It accuses World Liberty of threatening to permanently destroy his tokens through a process known as 'burning,' despite the fact that the assets remained in his personal wallet. The filing also names co-founder Chase Herro, alleging he told Sun that pursuing legal action would result in a referral to US authorities. Sun's legal team described the threat as 'a pressure tactic that itself qualifies as criminal extortion,' The Daily Beast reported.

Sun claims the early $30 million (£24 million) tranche of his investment would have grown to $276 million (£217 million) had his tokens not been frozen. 'They have left me with no choice but to turn to the courts,' he said.

The suit also challenged a governance proposal World Liberty Financial published on 15 April, which would impose a two-year lockup and a mandatory 10 per cent burn on advisor and partner tokens. Sun argued the measure was designed to punish non-compliant holders. With his own tokens frozen, he said, he has no ability to vote on the plan.

Eric Trump Calls the Lawsuit 'Ridiculous'

Eric Trump dismissed the case outright. 'The only thing more ridiculous than this lawsuit is spending $6 million on a banana duct-taped to a wall,' he wrote on X, a jab at Sun's November 2024 purchase of Maurizio Cattelan's Comedian.

Zach Witkoff, the venture's chief executive and son of Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, called Sun's claims 'entirely meritless.' He accused Sun of misconduct and said World Liberty Financial would seek to have the case thrown out. A company spokesperson separately told Reuters that Sun 'is not an advisor at World Liberty Financial, and he has never held an operational role in the company.'

World Liberty Financial once publicly credited Sun with helping rescue the project from a sluggish start. Earlier this year, Sun paid $10 million (£8 million) to settle a civil fraud case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Biden administration. He did not admit wrongdoing.

President Trump and his family control about 38 per cent of the company behind World Liberty Financial through a related entity, according to company's website. Under its bylaws, 75 per cent of WLFI token sale revenue flows to the Trump family, according to a Reuters analysis. The family has already earned more than $1 billion (£787 million) from the venture.

Sun said on X that he remained a backer of the president but accused certain members of the World Liberty team of running the project 'in a manner that goes against President Trump's values.'