These dark victim letters helped decide the fate of Terra founder Do Kwon

The $40 billion collapse of Terra’s UST and LUNA could cost millions of people, a US judge said in Thursday’s ruling for Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon. And 315 of these victims submitted letters detailing suicides, bankruptcies, and health crises dating back to Do Kwon’s actions that led to the collapse of the prominent cryptocurrency ecosystem in 2022.

U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer said he had read all 315 letters, the report said. inner city pressmay even make you stay up late or cancel those plans, calling that statement “influenced.”

The judge asked Kwon if he had “read everything” and offered to postpone the hearing to do so because 30 letters had been filed with late notices. Kwon declined, but said he intended to read it “at the earliest opportunity.”

given 15 years imprisonment Given what was handed down at the end of the hearing, he would have plenty of time to catch up. The characters are Can be viewed by the general public Through official court records, the human impact of Do Kwon’s fraud becomes clear.

“The collapse of Terra/LUNA has had a devastating impact on my life and family,” wrote an anonymous victim who claimed to have lost $500,000. “We lost our financial safety net, our retirement plans, and the stability we believed we had earned.”

“Simple things like taking the kids out on an outing, giving them a special gift or planning a vacation in some way are no longer possible,” they added. “We are at the bottom economically and every day is a fight for survival.”

Many of the letters detail losses ranging from thousands to millions, with one victim claiming they were forced into bankruptcy. The impact of these losses had a ripple effect on every aspect of their lives, from declining physical and mental health to the breakdown of families and relationships.

One of the victims, Anita Yubian, was diagnosed with a medical condition at the time of the collapse, and said the “suffocating stress” of losing $200,000 had significantly worsened her condition to the point where she was in constant pain.

Another victim, Nicholas, claimed he lost $62,000 in a now-infamous scam that earned him a 20% yield. anchor protocol. This was Terra’s most popular DeFi app as it offers drool-worthy yields on the UST stablecoin. Some saw this as a risk-free investment, at least until the UST stablecoin was permanently depegged. He said the loss caused a rift in their relationship, leading to a divorce, splitting up his family, and ultimately forcing him to live with his parents.

For some, the financial loss seems too great to handle.

“My friend and I were very large LUNA investors based on Doe’s statement that the peg would automatically be reinstated in 2021,” the victim’s letter, emailed by Josh Golder, said. “I lost mid-eight figures on Luna (yes, you read that right). Then my friend jumped off a building in Miami after telling his girlfriend he lost money in crypto (as stated in the police report).”

emotional weight

Ariel Givnercrypto lawyer and founder Givenner Lawsaid Kwon’s team’s refusal to cancel the hearing was “almost certainly strategic and not taken lightly.” The postponement could “unintentionally increase the emotional weight of the letter and move the procedural hearing closer to a victim impact forum.”

It is worth noting that not all of the victims made statements in hopes of getting Kwon’s sentence reduced. For example, Ms. Yuabian suggested that, despite his declining health, Mr. Kwon not be put in prison, but rather be forced to create a system that would repay all of his victims, saying that the Terraform Labs founder is “obviously a genius.” Others hoped Kwon would face the full force of the law and receive the maximum punishment.

a few onlookers guessed Some online believe the judge had given Kwon a chance to show remorse for his victims, but that he failed this hurdle. But Givner pushed back on this interpretation.

“In my opinion, the judge was not trying to cause remorse,” said Gibner, who previously worked as a judicial clerk. decryption. “When a judge raises the issue of notice or directly asks the defendant whether to proceed, it is to ensure procedural fairness and create a clean record, not to invite an apology or emotional reaction.”

Still, the judge cited the contents of Kwon’s letter before sentencing.

“Victims, I heard you and your letter,” the judge said. inner city press. “Here are some of them: ‘My losses were $62,000. I believed the risk was low.'” Ms. K wrote, “I considered suicide because my father encouraged me to invest my life savings of $100,000.” Another wrote: “I can’t support my kids right now.”

The judge added: “The investors were taking a risk, but they were not taking the risk of becoming victims of fraud.”