Justin Sun Sues World Liberty Financial Over ₱2.72 billion ($45 million) Deal
Justin Sun's ₱2.72 billion ($45 million) investment in World Liberty Financial turned into a legal war after the company froze his tokens. Co-founder Chase Herro faces four separate tax liens and allegedly boasted about visiting Jeffrey Epstein's private island.
Key Takeaway
Sun's lawsuit exposes how centralized control in DeFi projects can backfire when executives gain token freeze powers.
Tron founder Justin Sun filed a 52-page lawsuit accusing World Liberty Financial executives of fraud, theft, and extortion after his investment triggered a dispute over token control.
The suit paints World Liberty co-founder Chase Herro as what Sun calls an "inveterate scammer and tax dodger." Herro faces four separate tax liens and one tax deed on Florida property. A website called ChaseHeroScam.com existed around 2010, created by customers and partners who allegedly lost money dealing with him. Sun's lawyers also claim Herro publicly boasted about visiting Jeffrey Epstein's private island, though DL News couldn't confirm that claim. In 2024, a DeFi protocol involving Herro lost nearly all its crypto in a hack.
World Liberty CEO Zach Witkoff called the lawsuit a "desperate attempt to deflect attention from Sun's own misconduct." Witkoff said Sun engaged in behavior that forced the company to freeze his tokens to protect users. But Sun's lawsuit alleges World Liberty pushed secret upgrades without a governance vote that gave executives power to freeze and seize WLFI tokens at will. The company allegedly buried the blacklisting function in code without alerting token holders.
Sun claims World Liberty tried to extort him into providing more capital after his initial investment, though that section of the lawsuit is heavily redacted. The company also allegedly froze his tokens partly because Sun bought ₱6.05 billion ($100 million) worth of $TRUMP tokens from a separate Trump-backed memecoin project. A Trump family member described as a partner in both projects allegedly pre-approved that purchase.
When asked about the allegations, Herro responded by sharing a Rudyard Kipling motivational poem instead of addressing the claims directly. Sun's lawsuit argues World Liberty operates as an unlicensed money transmitter by controlling token movement on behalf of others. Sun alleges his token sales caused a 40-percent drop in WLFI price, and admits he bought some tokens on behalf of others, violating the Token Purchase Agreement dated April 24, 2026.
This article was written based on reporting from Dlnews.
