During the ongoing court trials associated with Terraform Labs’ allegations of fraud related to the collapse of its TerraUSD stablecoin in 2022, a former employee has testified about the challenges of working within the company.
Brian Curran, previously responsible for communications at Terraform, informed a Manhattan federal jury on Monday that managing public relations for the company left him feeling frustrated.
Despite his attempts to maintain transparency with users while handling PR for Terraform, Curran disclosed that he was instructed to craft misleading posts by the company. He also expressed difficulties in working with Do Kwon, the troubled founder of Terraform, according to a report from Law360.
“I felt quite frustrated because I came to realize that he wanted me to draft a post that he knew was untrue,” Curran responded to a query from the SEC’s counsel Carina Cuellar.
In May 2021, Terraform’s UST stablecoin lost its peg to the dollar, causing concern within the community. Curran testified that he had composed a statement indicating that the dollar de-pegging “just requires time to recalibrate,” despite knowing it to be inaccurate.
Curran described the aftermath of the de-pegging as a public relations nightmare, as it sparked online disputes between Terraform, Kwon, and the crypto community.
During this period, Jeff Kuan, Terraform’s former head of business development, raised concerns about Kwon’s behavior, noting that Kwon had referred to members of the community as “cockroaches” on Twitter. In response, Curran jokingly replied to Kuan, saying, “never going camping again lol.”
Curran explained to the jury that he decided to leave Terraform permanently due to his frustration with operating in an environment where information was lacking.
He recounted how Terra began to de-peg while he was on a flight over the Pacific en route to meet colleagues in Singapore. Upon landing, he felt disoriented and bewildered by the unfolding events.
Kwon’s SEC Trial In NYC
The trial of Do Kwon by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commenced on March 25th. These legal proceedings come in the wake of Kwon’s release from a Montenegrin prison, as the Supreme Court of the Balkan nation deliberates on his extradition destination.
Kwon is confronted with charges related to breaching the registration and anti-fraud provisions outlined in the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. Originating from his native South Korea, an arrest warrant was initially issued against Kwon in September 2022 for contravening the country’s national markets law.
His apprehension occurred in Montenegro in March 2023, where he was caught attempting to utilize a counterfeit Costa Rican passport in an endeavor to travel to Dubai.
