New York. Cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon is set to be sentenced Thursday for misleading investors who lost billions when his company’s digital asset ecosystem collapsed in 2022.

Kwon, known by some as the “cryptocurrency king,” pleaded guilty in August in Manhattan federal court to fraud charges tied to the $40 billion crash of Terraform Labs. The company had marketed its TerraUSD token as a reliable “stablecoin” — typically pegged to stable assets to avoid sharp price swings. Prosecutors say that claim was an illusion that ultimately collapsed, devastating investors and triggering “a cascade of crises that swept through cryptocurrency markets.”

The South Korean entrepreneur has agreed to forfeit more than $19 million as part of a plea deal.

Federal sentencing guidelines call for roughly 25 years in prison, but prosecutors have asked for a 12-year term, citing his guilty plea, the likelihood of further prosecution in South Korea, and the time he already served in Montenegro while awaiting extradition.

“Kwon’s fraud was colossal in scope, permeating virtually every facet of Terraform’s purported business,” prosecutors wrote in a memo to the judge. “His rampant lies left a trail of financial destruction in their wake.”

Kwon’s attorneys asked for a sentence of no more than five years, arguing that his actions stemmed from hubris and desperation rather than greed.

“I alone am responsible for everyone’s pain,” Kwon wrote in a letter to the judge. “The community looked to me to know the path, and in my hubris I led them astray. I made misrepresentations that came from a brashness that is now a source of deep regret.”

Authorities said investors worldwide lost money in the downfall of the Singapore-based crypto firm, which Kwon co-founded in 2018. About $40 billion in market value was wiped out for holders of TerraUSD and its sister cryptocurrency, Luna, after the stablecoin plunged far below its $1 peg.

Kwon was extradited to the US from Montenegro after his March 23, 2023 arrest while traveling through Europe on a false passport.

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