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Prosecutors Seek 12 Years Imprisonment for Do Kwon, Convicted Terra-Luna Fraudster

Kwon will be sentenced on December 11 in Manhattan federal court.
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Dec 5, 2025 • 1 min read

In a sentencing memo filed yesterday by United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, U.S. federal prosecutors announced they were seeking 12 years imprisonment as punishment for Do Kwon.

The convicted Terra-Luna founder pled guilty on August 12, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of wire fraud, and agreed to forfeit $19.3M as part of a plea deal.

What's the Scoop?

  • Unprecedented Fraud: In their Thursday filing to Judge Paul Engelmayer, U.S. prosecutors argued that Kwon’s "yearslong fraud" and the unprecedented $40B wipeout (larger than the losses of FTX, Celsius, and OneCoin combined) justify a 12-year prison term.
  • Defense Counters: Kwon's defense claimed last week that a prison term of up to five years should be sufficient, attributing the crash partly to coordinated trades by third-party firms who exploited vulnerabilities in Terra-Luna's design (which prosecutors counter Kwon deliberately concealed).
  • Imminent Sentencing: Do Kwon's sentencing is scheduled December 11, and he could face additional prosecution in South Korea, his country of origin.

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