WLFI co-founder Zach Witkoff under spotlight after 2022 drug arrest video surfaces

World Liberty Financial co-founder Zach Witkoff has come under renewed scrutiny after body camera footage from a 2022 drug-related arrest resurfaced.

According to recently surfaced footage on X, Witkoff was detained on New Year’s Day 2022 outside the E11EVEN nightclub in Miami, an incident that has regained attention just as tensions between World Liberty Financial and Sun have spilled into court.

Arrest footage resurfaces as WLFI dispute intensifies

Video from the scene shows Witkoff interacting with police officers during the arrest, which also involved his father, Steve Witkoff. Security staff at the venue said Steve Witkoff attempted to enter the club after being denied access, leading to a physical altercation.

Police footage captures officers conducting a search and discovering a bag of cocaine. Authorities charged Zach Witkoff with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and felony possession at the time.

During the exchange, his account of events appeared to change. “I was trying to help a friend,” he told officers at one point, before later adding, “It’s not even mine.” He also insisted he had done nothing wrong and claimed he was assaulted.

Officers repeatedly warned him against resisting as the situation escalated. As he was being detained, Witkoff attempted to reference connections to the club’s ownership. 

“I’m friends with Marc Roberts, I swear to God,” he said, prompting a security guard to respond, “Nobody cares… Stop dropping names.”

Court records show Witkoff later posted bond and pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors initially pursued the case, but the felony cocaine charge was later dismissed, along with one count of resisting arrest.

Legal battle with Justin Sun adds fresh pressure

The timing of the footage’s circulation comes as World Liberty Financial faces a lawsuit from Justin Sun, who has accused the Trump-linked DeFi project of coercive practices tied to his WLFI holdings.

Sun’s complaint alleges that the platform froze 4 billion WLFI tokens he acquired in September and pressured him to remove them from circulation. According to the filing, co-founder Chase Herro warned that if Sun refused, the project would push a governance vote to wipe out his holdings, leveraging its control over token supply.

The lawsuit claims the move formed part of “an effort to coerce Mr. Sun into providing more capital for the benefit of the company.” It also alleges threats to report Sun to authorities over “unspecified KYC issues,” months before he reached a $10 million settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

Sun further argued that World Liberty attempted to prevent a large holder from selling in order to support WLFI’s price, while wrongly accusing him of short-selling and contributing to a sharp 40% drop in the token’s value in September.

With WLFI trading near $0.08, Sun’s frozen holdings are valued at roughly $318 million, based on data from CoinGecko.

Witkoff rejects claims as “entirely meritless”

Responding publicly, Witkoff dismissed the lawsuit and questioned Sun’s motives. “A desperate attempt to deflect attention from Sun’s own misconduct,” he said in a post on X, adding that the allegations are “entirely meritless.”

World Liberty echoed that stance in a separate statement, stating, “Justin’s favorite move is playing the victim while making baseless allegations to cover up his own misconduct. See you in court.”

The dispute has also drawn attention to internal tensions around WLFI’s token economics. Sun’s filing claims the project sought to artificially support prices and restrict selling pressure, while also taking out large stablecoin loans using WLFI.

Additional friction emerged over Sun’s separate $100 million investment in an officially licensed Trump-themed meme coin. Sun said the purchase had been pre-approved by a member of the Trump family, a detail that, if accurate, points to direct access between major investors and the project’s inner circle.

As the case moves forward, parts of the complaint remain redacted, leaving key aspects of the disagreement unclear. Meanwhile, the resurfaced arrest footage has added a separate layer of public scrutiny around Witkoff at a moment when legal and reputational pressures are already building.