A billionaire backer has sued the Trump family’s World Liberty crypto venture over allegations of extortion, according to the BBC. Justin Sun, a prominent figure in the cryptocurrency world, claims the firm has engaged in an ‘illegal scheme’ to seize his WLFI tokens. These tokens are issued by the company co-founded by US President Donald Trump and his son, Eric Trump.

Allegations of Extortion and Misconduct

Sun alleges that World Liberty has ‘frozen’ all of his tokens and stripped him of his right to vote on governance issues. He stated in a social media post that ‘they wrongfully froze all of my tokens, stripped me of my right to vote on governance proposals, and have threatened to permanently destroy my tokens by ‘burning’ them – all without any proper justification.’

Sun is the founder of a separate multi-billion dollar crypto project, TRON. He initially invested $45m (£33m) in World Liberty and said that, at times, his WLFI tokens have been valued at more than $1bn (£740m). However, since September, the price of a single WLFI token has plummeted from 31 cents to just under 8 cents.

Concerns Over Misuse of the Trump Brand

Sun’s backing was driven by the Trump family’s association with the project and his long-standing support for cryptocurrencies. He also bought $100m of Trump’s meme coins in July 2025. However, Sun accused ‘certain individuals’ associated with World Liberty of acting against the president’s values. He alleged that those running the firm, including co-founder Chase Herro, are using it as a ‘golden opportunity to use the Trump brand to profit through fraud.’

In his complaint, filed on Tuesday in a San Francisco federal court, Sun argues that initial promises to give token-holders the option to trade the currency in the future ‘were false and misleading.’ While the tokens at large became tradeable, Sun said World Liberty has blocked him from being able to sell a single one and is now threatening to ‘burn’ his tokens, deleting them entirely.

Response from World Liberty and Broader Concerns

WLFI has denied wrongdoing and accused Sun of ‘playing the victim while making baseless allegations to cover up his own misconduct.’ Investors have also grown concerned about World Liberty borrowing against the value of its tokens. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has dropped its investigation into Sun, with Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, questioning if it was tied to his investments in Trump’s crypto ventures.

Sun had been accused of paying high-profile influencers to promote his companies on social media without disclosing the payments. Elsewhere, the Trump business behind his Truth Social platform replaced its chief executive Devin Nunes after a sharp fall in its share price. Kevin McGurn, who has worked at Hulu, Vevo, and T-Mobile, will temporarily take over from the former California Congressman.

In the past year, shares in Trump Media & Technology have fallen in value by almost two-thirds as it struggles to attract users beyond the US president, who frequently uses it to make announcements.