The lawsuit filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Tron founder Justin Sun has been revised with new claims. The SEC argues that it has jurisdiction over Sun, Tron, and two other businesses controlled by him, as they have purposefully directed their actions towards the United States. According to the amended complaint filed on April 17, the regulator states that Sun has extensively traveled throughout the country, spending a total of over 380 days in the US between 2017 and 2019 for business trips to New York City, Boston, and San Francisco. The SEC alleges that these trips were conducted on behalf of the Tron Foundation, the BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry, which are referred to as Sun’s “alter ego” firms in the lawsuit. The SEC reiterates its previous allegations that Sun and his businesses sold unregistered securities through the Tron (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens and engaged in manipulative wash trading. It specifically claims that these tokens were promoted, offered, and sold to consumers and investors in the United States, and that Sun traveled extensively to the US during the time of these activities. The SEC also alleges that Sun’s wash trades involving TRX took place on the Seattle-based crypto exchange, Bittrex. In response to the lawsuit, Sun had requested its dismissal in late March, arguing that the SEC applied US security laws to predominantly foreign conduct and lacked jurisdiction over him and the Singapore-based Tron Foundation. He claimed that the TRX and BTT tokens were sold entirely overseas and took steps to avoid the US market, adding that the SEC did not allege that the tokens were initially offered or sold to any US residents. Sun’s lawyers have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Lawsuit gains traction as SEC reveals Justin Sun's extensive travel to the United States