On December 12, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon to 15 years in prison for fraud and other misconduct in the Terra and Luna token crashes. This sentence exceeds the prosecution's initial recommendation. Prosecutors had argued for a 12-year sentence, citing Kwon's past misconduct and the massive scale of the fraud; Kwon's legal team, however, requested a mere 5-year sentence.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer stated that Kwon "chose to lie" and "made the wrong choice." Kwon was criminally charged in March 2023 with charges including conspiracy to commit fraud, merchandise fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate markets and money laundering. He subsequently pleaded guilty to both wire fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud in August 2024.
Without a plea agreement, Kwon could have faced up to 135 years in prison if convicted on all nine counts. After agreeing to plead guilty to two counts, his maximum sentence was reduced to 25 years. Prosecutors had also sought a $19 million fine.
