Terraform Labs and Do Kwon Misled, Deceived, and Defrauded Investors

IV. Terraform and Kwon Misled, Deceived, and Defrauded Investors

118. To inspire confidence in the Terraform ecosystem, and encourage trading in its crypto asset securities, Defendants engaged in a scheme to deceive and mislead investors and prospective investors in the U.S. and abroad. In particular, from at least mid-2019 through at least March 2022, Defendants misled investors and prospective investors into believing that the Terraform blockchain was being used to process and settle real world purchases by retail consumers in Korea.

In addition, when UST de-pegged briefly from the U.S. dollar in May 2021, Defendants falsely represented that the peg was restored due to the success of UST's algorithm, which, according to Terraform, was the "lynchpin of the entire [Terraform] ecosystem." Defendants misleadingly omitted the real reason for the re-peg - the deliberate intervention by a third party, as discussed with Defendants, to buy large amounts of UST to restore its value.

119. Defendants' statements were materially false and misleading and made during a time when Defendants were actively offering, selling, and/or marketing Terraform's crypto assets, including LUNA and UST. Defendants knew or were reckless in not knowing that these representations were false when they were made.

120. As one Terraform employee stated in a chat with another employee on September 1, 2021, "working at terra has reinforced my belief in conspiracy theories... just the white lies to prop up anchor and mirror and the illusion of decentralization and true extent of chai adoption ...all from the armchair of a single man sipping whisky" - the reference to a man sipping whisky being Kwon.