Crypto mogul jailed for 15 years over $69b stablecoin fraud
Onetime cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after a US$40 billion (NZ$68.8 billion) crash revealed his crypto ecosystem to be a fraud. Victims said the 34-year-old financial technology whizz weaponised their trust to convince them that the investment – secretly propped up by cash infusions – was safe.
Kwon, a Stanford graduate known by some as “the cryptocurrency king”, apologised after listening as victims – one in court and others by telephone – described the scam’s toll: Wiping out nest eggs, depleting charities and wrecking lives. One told the judge in a letter that he contemplated suicide after his father lost his retirement money in the scheme.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer said at a daylong…
