Thomas Daniels
Crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun is the target of a countersuit filed by billionaire media mogul David Geffen, who claims Sun’s initial lawsuit over a $78 million sculpture by Alberto Giacometti is a “sham” and a component of a larger fraudulent scheme.
The counterclaim was filed on April 16 by Geffen, who is well-known as a record executive, art collector, and film producer. In connection with their contentious art sale, he charged Sun, the creator of the blockchain platform Tron, of unethical and unlawful business tactics.
Sun filed a lawsuit against Geffen in February, claiming that Xiong Zihan Sydney, a former employee, had sold the Giacometti piece, Le Nez, to Geffen illegally in a convoluted transaction worth about $65 million in cash and artwork. The sculpture was first purchased by Sun for $78.4 million in a Sotheby’s auction in 2021.
Sun and Xiong failed to profitably market two artworks they acquired from Geffen in the initial transaction, along with $10.5 million in cash, according to the 100-page complaint, which claims that they collaborated to fake the disagreement. Sun’s action, according to Geffen, is an attempt in bad faith to discredit his legitimate ownership of Le Nez.
Geffen also argues that Sun’s haste to sell off assets was a result of the general decline in cryptocurrency markets in 2022 and 2023, which was made worse by serious hacking events affecting Sun’s trading platforms, HTX and Poloniex.
Conflicting reports about Xiong’s involvement are at the heart of the controversy. These include whether or not she admitted to stealing, the extent of her alleged wrongdoing in terms of money, and Geffen’s assertion that Sun keeps the contested artworks and the money that goes with them through art dealers.
Geffen further complicates matters by accusing Sun of a wider pattern of wrongdoing, citing cases brought by former workers who said they were retaliated against for not engaging in unethical behavior.
On April 17, Sun’s lawyer, William Charron, emphasized that Xiong had admitted to stealing, been arrested, and was still being held in China, rejecting the key points of Geffen’s counterclaims. “We eagerly look forward to litigating this case and to recovering Mr. Sun’s property,” Charron said, calling Geffen’s defense “misguided”.
Notably, Sun has continued to be well-known in the art world. He paid $6.2 million at Sotheby’s New York in November for Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian, which is renowned for being a banana glued to a wall. In a well reported stunt, he then ate the artwork during a press conference.
A high-stakes conflict between two titans from very different industries is being set up by the continuing case, which highlights the expanding convergence of Bitcoin wealth and the upscale art market.
