Media mogul hits Justin Sun with countersuit in $78M sculpture dispute
18 Aprile 2025 - 7:21AM
Cointelegraph


American film producer, record executive and art collector David
Geffen has hit back at crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun in a
countersuit disputing ownership claims over a multimillion-dollar
sculpture.
The billionaire American media mogul filed a
counterclaim against Sun on April 16, calling the Tron founder’s
suit a “sham” and adding claims of “unethical and/or illegal
business activities.”
Sun sued Geffen in February, claiming that the statue was stolen
from him by a former employee who then sold the
artwork to
Geffen in a deal worth around $65 million in artwork and cash.
Sun purchased the Alberto Giacometti sculpture titled “Le Nez”
at a Sotheby’s auction in 2021 for $78 million, working with the
assistance of his former art adviser, Xiong Zihan Sydney.
In the 100-page countersuit, Geffen claims that Sun and Xiong
“contrived this fraudulent lawsuit” after they couldn’t profitably
sell two paintings that Geffen had exchanged for the sculpture,
along with $10.5 million in cash.
“Sun’s claims concerning Le Nez, a sculpture by the artist
Alberto Giacometti, are utterly without merit and constitute a
bad-faith, tortious attempt to interfere with Geffen’s ownership of
Le Nez,” the counterclaim read.
Geffen also claims that Sun was eager to sell the sculpture
because crypto markets were crashing throughout 2022 and 2023 and
his crypto platforms Poloniex and HTX were
repeatedly
hacked for hundreds of millions of dollars in
2023.
Alberto
Giacometti’s Le Nez. Source: Fondation
Giacomett
Key disputes include whether Xiong confessed to stealing the
sculpture, inconsistencies in Sun’s claims about how much money
Xiong allegedly stole, and Geffen’s claim that Sun still has the
money and the paintings, which are being held by art dealers.
Fraudulent behavior allegations
Geffen takes things further by alleging Sun has a history of
fraudulent behavior, such as being sued by former employees for
punishing them for refusing to engage in “unethical and/or illegal
business activities,” and making false statements in other
lawsuits.
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On April 17, Sun’s lawyer, William Charron, refuted essential
aspects of Geffen’s countersuit, according to
ArtNet.
Ms. Xiong confessed to her theft, was arrested in China, and is
in detention in China today, he said before adding:
“In spite of these facts, Mr. Geffen goes all-in on the idea
that Ms. Xiong was not a thief; that she supposedly spoke for Mr.
Sun at all times; and that she is walking freely in China today.
Mr. Geffen’s pleading is extremely misguided.” “We eagerly look
forward to litigating this case and to recovering Mr. Sun’s
property,” he said.
In November, Sun bought
Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian — a banana taped to the wall — at
Sotheby’s New York for $6.2 million, and then ate the banana at a
press conference in a publicity stunt.
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countersuit in $78M sculpture dispute
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Media mogul hits Justin Sun with countersuit in $78M
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