President Trump’s Sons Barron, Don Jr. and Eric Take on Crypto Billionaire in Defamation Lawsuit

The Trump brothers are taking the gloves off in a legal brawl with one of the most flamboyant figures in cryptocurrency — and it’s the latest sign of turbulence surrounding the family‘s digital currency empire.

World Liberty Financial — the crypto venture co-founded by Barron, Don Jr. and Eric Trump alongside Alex and Zach Witkoff, sons of presidential envoy Steve Witkoff —hit billionaire crypto investor Justin Sun with a defamation suit on Monday, May 4, according to the Daily Mail.

The legal action adds to a growing list of headaches for the Trump family’s crypto interests. As the National Enquirer previously reported, Eric, 42, was quietly removed from the leadership page of Alt5, a fintech company tied to World Liberty Financial, just last week — though a company spokesman called him “a highly visible and active co-founder at World Liberty Financial.”

Now the company is locked in a courtroom showdown with one of its biggest investors. The suit came in response to legal action Sun initiated two weeks earlier, in which he accused World Liberty Financial of unlawfully seizing his assets, per the Daily Mail. The Trump-backed venture is fighting back, alleging that Sun, 35, took to social media to wage a ‘public smear campaign’ against the venture on social media after the company froze his holdings over what it described as “misconduct.”

Among the allegations: Sun engaged in “suspected short selling” of company tokens and made “straw purchases of $WLFI tokens on behalf of undisclosed third parties,” per the report. When confronted, the company claims Sun didn’t attempt to resolve things privately. Instead, his legal team allegedly threatened to “light World Liberty on fire” and tank the token’s value, according to the outlet.

Tom Clare, the attorney representing World Liberty Financial, said the defamation suit was a “last resort to correct the record.” He added, “We are eager to expose the falsity of Sun’s statements in court and in public,” per the outlet

Meanwhile, Sun didn’t hold back either. He called the lawsuit “nothing more than a meritless PR stunt” on social media, adding, “I stand by my actions and look forward to defeating the case in court,” according to the report.

The Chinese-born billionaire is no stranger to spectacle. He once paid $6.2 million for an art installation of a banana taped to a wall — then ate it on camera. He also shelled out $28 million for a seat on Jeff Bezos‘ Blue Origin space flight and once offered $30 million for an hour with Elon Musk, who never publicly responded.

Sun’s ties to the Trump family‘s crypto interests run deep. After the 2024 election, he poured money into projects backed by the president and his family, including a $75 million investment in World Liberty Financial that reportedly netted the Trumps an estimated $400 million in profits, per Forbes. He also dropped $100 million on the $TRUMP meme coin in May 2025, calling himself the president’s “top fan” in a post on X.

The falling out could carry consequences beyond the courtroom. Democratic strategists told the Daily Mail that if their party wins the House majority in November, Sun could become a valuable witness for congressional investigators probing the Trump family’s cryptocurrency dealings.