Odaily Planet Daily reports that the Southern District Court of New York sentenced Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon to 15 years in prison, a sentence exceeding the prosecution's earlier demands. Prosecutors argued that given Kwon's past misconduct and the scale of his fraud, he should have received a 12-year sentence; however, Kwon's lawyers argued for a mere 5-year sentence.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer stated that Do Kwon "chose to lie" and "made the wrong choice." In March 2023, Do Kwon was criminally charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, merchandise fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate the market and launder money. In August of this year, Do Kwon subsequently pleaded guilty to the wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud charges. Do Kwon may face further legal challenges in South Korea; he must serve at least half of his sentence before he can apply for transfer to South Korea, and the 17 months he served in Montenegro Prison will be counted towards his sentence. (The Block)

According to Odaily Planet Daily, Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, stated that his sentence in the United States for his involvement in a fraud case related to the approximately $40 billion TerraUSD stablecoin collapse in 2022 should not exceed five years.

Kwon pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud charges in August, thus avoiding trial. He was arrested and convicted last year in Montenegro for using a fake passport and was subsequently extradited to the United States as a fugitive from South Korea. (Bloomberg)