Kwon Do-hyung Sentenced to 15 Years in U.S. Court Over 'Terra Incident'

The court has sentenced Kwon Do-hyung, founder of Terraform Labs, to 15 years in prison in the United States on charges including fraud related to the issuance of the stablecoin "Terra USD."

On the 11th (local time), Judge Paul Engelmayer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York handed down this sentence to Kwon.

On March 23, 2024, Kwon Do-hyung, who completed his sentence for document forgery in Montenegro, is being escorted by the police. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Previously, in August, Kwon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and wire fraud. As a result, the sentencing proceeded immediately without a separate trial to determine guilt or innocence.

The U.S. prosecution, under a plea bargain agreement, had sought a maximum sentence of 12 years for Kwon. Kwon's attorney requested a sentence of no more than five years, citing his time in detention in Montenegro and the fact that he faces additional criminal charges in South Korea.

Separate from the prison sentence, the prosecution also agreed under the plea bargain to confiscate $19 million and other assets from Kwon.

U.S. federal prosecutors indicted Kwon on a total of eight charges, including securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate market prices, after he was apprehended in Montenegro in March 2023. At the end of last year, Kwon was extradited from Montenegro to the United States, and a charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering was added. If found guilty on all nine charges, Kwon could have faced up to 130 years in prison. Kwon initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea in August, admitting guilt on two charges.

According to the plea bargain, the U.S. Department of Justice will not object if Kwon applies for the International Prisoner Transfer Program after serving half of his sentence and complying with the conditions of the plea agreement. Accordingly, Kwon may be transferred to South Korea at his request after serving half of his sentence.