Trump family's World Liberty Financial sues crypto billionaire Justin Sun for defamation

By May 4, 2026 / 10:17 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency venture co-founded by President Donald Trump and his sons, on Monday sued Justin Sun for defamation, alleging that the crypto billionaire engaged in a "public smear campaign" to attack the business. The lawsuit, filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Florida, seeks unspecified damages and a public retraction of statements Sun made on social media about World Liberty Financial. The allegations mark an escalation in the conflict between World Liberty Financial and Sun, a major investor. In April, Sun sued the startup for fraud, claiming he was illegally blocked from selling digital tokens worth up to $1 billion. "Scorched earth"In its lawsuit, World Liberty Financial alleges that Sun bet against the company's crypto tokens, which trade under the $WLFI ticker, and made so-called straw purchases by using third parties to purchase tokens to conceal his identity. The company also said it froze tokens owned by one of Sun's companies to "protect World Liberty and the broader community of $WLFI holders.""Nevertheless, rather than work constructively with World Liberty to address the misconduct, Sun embarked on a scorched