Justin Sun Seeks $264K Sanctions Against WLFI and Its Lawyers

According to court documents, Justin Sun and his affiliates Blue Anthem Limited and Black Anthem Limited filed a motion on November 2 with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking $263,821.20 in sanctions against World Liberty Financial (WLFI) and its lawyers, and citing relevant statutes to request that the court order the lawyers personally to bear the costs arising from unreasonable litigation delays. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for December 10.

The documents show that the amount covers only the fees of the plaintiffs' four core lawyers in opposing WLFI's motion to compel arbitration, excluding other legal fees as well as costs related to jurisdictional discovery and the sanctions motion itself. The plaintiffs allege that WLFI's initial disclosure filed on June 2, while separately listing WLF Holdco LLC as the parent company, stated that WLFI was the only entity in the ownership chain; after the judge questioned its arbitration claim at an August 20 hearing, WLFI filed a supplemental disclosure on August 26. Subsequently, WLFI provided only limited documents, refused to arrange witness testimony, and refused to explain the lawyers' prior verification efforts and when they learned of its UAE citizenship.

The plaintiffs argue that WLFI's initial disclosure was at least reckless, and that the timing of the supplemental disclosure indicates an intent to manipulate the proceedings; even if the lawyers conducted reasonable verification and WLFI concealed information from them, such conduct itself should be subject to sanctions.