Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, attempted to dismiss the suit filed by the United States Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month, arguing that the regulator lacked jurisdiction. However, following his dismissal attempt, the SEC filed an amended lawsuit against him.
The SEC amended its lawsuit against Tron founder Justin Sun, asserting jurisdiction and citing his extensive travel throughout the country.
In an amended complaint filed on April 17 in a Manhattan federal court, the regulator contends that it holds “personal jurisdiction” over Sun, Tron, and two other businesses under his control. This assertion is based on their deliberate actions and directions toward the United States.
According to the SEC’s claims, Sun conducted business trips to New York City, Boston, and San Francisco between 2017 and 2019, accumulating over 380 days in the United States during that period.
The SEC claimed that these trips were conducted on behalf of the Tron Foundation, the BitTorrent Foundation, and Rainberry, all of which are referred to in the lawsuit as firms representing Sun’s “alter ego.”
In its amended lawsuit, the SEC repeated accusations from its initial filing last month, asserting that Sun and his enterprises conducted the sale of unregistered securities via the Tron and BitTorrent (BTT) tokens. Additionally, the regulator accused Sun of involvement in “manipulative wash trading.”
The SEC made sure to assert that TRX and BTT were promoted, offered, and sold to “consumers and investors located in the United States.”
It added that “Sun traveled extensively to the United States during the time that TRX and BTT were promoted, offered, and sold.”
Additionally, the SEC alleged that Sun’s purported TRX wash trades occurred on the Seattle-based crypto exchange Bittrex.
Towards the end of March, Sun, a Grenadian citizen born in China, requested the dismissal of the suit, contending that the SEC had extended U.S. securities laws to primarily foreign actions and lacked jurisdiction over him or the Tron Foundation, headquartered in Singapore.
He claimed the TRX and BTT tokens were sold “entirely overseas,” and the sales took steps to avoid the U.S. market; he added the SEC did not allege the tokens “were offered or sold initially to any U.S. residents.”
There was no immediate response from Sun’s legal representatives when asked for a comment.
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