SEC Justifies Legal Pursuit of Justin Sun Due to Frequent US Visits

In a revised complaint against TRON founder Justin Sun, the SEC stated that his frequent visits to the United States provide grounds for legal action.

In March 2023, the regulator accused the entrepreneur and three associated companies of an unregistered offering of securities in the form of TRON (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens.

The agency also alleges that the defendants manipulated the TRX secondary market through “wash trading.”

In a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, Sun’s representatives noted that the SEC “is not a global regulator.” They emphasized that its efforts to apply U.S. securities laws “to predominantly foreign conduct” go “too far.” The TRON founder, a native of China, also holds a Grenadian passport.

In its updated complaint, the Commission indicated that, according to its data, Sun spent over 380 days in the U.S. between 2017 and 2019.

His business trips included major cities such as New York, Boston, and San Francisco. The SEC believes that the entrepreneur and his controlled companies “deliberately took actions in the United States directed against them.”

The initial complaint regarding allegations of fictitious TRX trading mentioned an unnamed platform. This time, the Commission clarified that it refers to the defunct exchange Bittrex.

According to the SEC, Sun personally communicated with the platform’s team regarding the listing of TRX in 2018. Many documents related to the companies attributed to him were signed by the entrepreneur himself.

The agency considered that Bittrex’s U.S. base further confirms jurisdiction over the defendants.

In August 2023, the American exchange and its head settled SEC claims by agreeing to pay $24 million. Prior to this, Bittrex unsuccessfully attempted to challenge the agency’s authority in regulating cryptocurrencies.