Do Kwon Faces Up to 12 Years in Prison Over ‘Colossal’ Role in $40B TerraUSD Collaps

Do Kwon is set for sentencing on December 11, 2025, in Manhattan federal court. Judge Paul Engelmayer will decide his prison term. U.S. prosecutors are seeking the toughest sentence allowed under his plea deal. They argue Do Kwon’s fraud was large enough to shake parts of the crypto market after the Terra collapse.

Do Kwon Prosecutors Seek 12 Years Term

According to Bloomberg report,  federal prosecutors said the scale of the crime was extreme. They told Judge Engelmayer it reached far beyond one project’s failure. The government said the shock damaged retail holders and sent stress through crypto trading and lending venues.

Do Kwon pleaded guilty in August 2025 to one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud, and wire fraud, plus one count of wire fraud. The Justice Department said the two counts carry a combined maximum of 25 years. Under the plea arrangement, prosecutors can seek up to 12 years.

Prosecutors are asking for that 12-year term. They said Do Kwon lied to users and investors about key claims tied to the Terra ecosystem. They told the court the deception helped trigger the 2022 crash of TerraUSD and Luna, which was widely described as a roughly $40 billion collapse.

Kwon is pushing for less time. In a separate filing reported last week, he said a five-year term would be sufficient. The request puts Kwon and the government on opposite sides ahead of the sentencing date.

Forfeiture, No Restitution, and the Extradition Path

The plea requires Do Kwon to forfeit more than $19 million in proceeds, including an interest tied to Terraform and its cryptocurrencies, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors have also said they are not pursuing restitution. They argued that losses would be hard to calculate across a large and global group of victims.

The case came to New York after a cross-border pursuit. Kwon was a arrested in March 2023 when he tried to travel to Dubai from Montenegro using forged papers. U.S. and South Korean officials sought extradition in an extended court process.