According to Cointelegraph, PANews reported on April 18 that American film producer, record company executive, and art collector David Geffen has filed a countersuit against crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun over a multi-million dollar sculpture ownership dispute. On April 16, Geffen accused Justin Sun's lawsuit of being a "scam" and alleged "unethical and/or illegal business activities". Previously, Justin Sun had sued Geffen in February, claiming the sculpture was stolen by a former employee and sold to Geffen. With the help of his former art advisor Xiong Zihan Sydney, Justin Sun purchased Alberto Giacometti's sculpture 'Le Nez' at a Sotheby's auction for $78 million in 2021.
The countersuit claims that Justin Sun's claims about the sculpture 'Le Nez' are baseless, malicious, and illegal, aimed at interfering with Geffen's ownership. Geffen also accused Justin Sun and Xiong of fabricating a fraudulent lawsuit after failing to profit from selling the artwork plus $10.5 million in cash. Geffen further claimed that Justin Sun was eager to sell the sculpture due to the continuous cryptocurrency market crash in 2022 and 2023, and because his crypto platforms Poloniex and HTX were hacked multiple times in 2023, losing hundreds of millions of dollars. The main points of contention include whether Xiong admits to stealing the sculpture, Justin Sun's contradictory statements about the alleged theft amount, and Geffen's claim that Justin Sun still owns the money and artwork, currently held by art dealers.
