US Seeks 12-Year Sentence For Terraform Labs Co-Founder Do Kwon

Do Kwon, the troubled co-founder of Terraform Labs based in Singapore, is facing a possible 12-year prison sentence in the United States due to his role in the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin, which resulted in significant losses within the cryptocurrency market.

Do Kwon Seeks Reduced Sentence Of Five Years

Bloomberg reported that in a court filing late Thursday, US prosecutors described the Terraform Labs co-founder’s fraudulent actions as “colossal in scope.” 

They emphasized that his “misleading statements to customers” triggered a domino effect of crises across the crypto landscape, culminating in the downfall of notable entities such as Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.

This comes amid a regulatory environment that has grown increasingly lenient under the Trump administration. In late October, President Trump pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who had been convicted for failing to uphold proper anti-money laundering measures.

In a recent court filing, Terraform Labs co-founder expressed a desire for a reduced sentence of five years. His legal team asserted that he has already “suffered substantially” for his actions, noting that he has spent nearly three years in detention conditions described as “brutal” in Montenegro. 

Kwon’s lawyers argued that a five-year prison term would be sufficient and that the prosecutors’ recommendation of 12 years is “far greater than necessary” for justice to be served.

Potential For Sentence Transfer For Terraform Labs Co-Founder

Initially, Kwon pleaded not guilty in January to a nine-count indictment that charged him with securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. However, he changed his plea in August to guilty for conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud. 

During this change, Terraform Labs’ leader acknowledged that his actions included making “false and misleading statements” regarding the restoration of TerraUSD’s peg in 2021, admitting, “What I did was wrong.”

As part of his plea agreement, Kwon has consented to forfeit $19.3 million and some properties. Prosecutors have chosen not to demand restitution for the millions of investors who collectively lost $40 billion, citing that calculating individual losses would be too complicated.

Kwon faces charges in both the US and his native South Korea, where prosecutors are also pursuing a lengthy prison sentence potentially reaching up to 40 years. 

He was arrested in Montenegro in 2023 while using a fake passport, and following a protracted legal battle, he was extradited to the United States in January after spending nearly two years in a Balkan jail.

US prosecutors have indicated they would support Kwon’s opportunity to serve the second half of his sentence in South Korea, provided he adheres to the terms of his plea deal and qualifies for a transfer program. Kwon is scheduled for sentencing by US District Judge Paul Engelmayer on December 11.

When writing, Terraform Labs’ native token Luna Classic (LUNC) saw a 75% increase in response to Do Kwon’s probable sentence, trading at $0.000050 and placing it at the helm of the market’s top performers on Friday. 

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com