Former Terraform PR Man Brian Curran Tells Court Working for Do Kwon Made Him “Angry” 

Key Takeaways

• Former Terraform Labs PR head expressed frustration over misleading directives during his tenure.
• Terraform Labs is under scrutiny for fraud claims following the 2022 collapse of its stablecoin.
• The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is one of the many agencies probing Terraform and its founder, Do Kwon.

Brian Curran, the former head of communications at Terraform Labs, revealed in a testimony in a New York City federal court that misleading practices made him “angry.” His testimony is part of the ongoing legal battles after the implosion of TerraUSD in 2022.

Curran’s Testimony in Court

Curran, former PR chief at  Terraform Labs, talked about his experience with the company. According to a report  by Law360, Curran joined Terraform with an interest in crypto but was soon frustrated by misleading directives from Terra founder Do Kwon.

As per the report, an incident from May 2021 was particularly troubling for the PR head. When Terraform’s UST briefly lost its peg to the US dollar, he was instructed to issue a misleading statement on Twitter, suggesting that the coin’s stability “just needs time to recalibrate,” despite knowing the recovery was actually due to a financial intervention by Jump Trading.

Curran said: “I was fairly angry, because I realized that he had tried to deceive me, to write a post that he knew to be false.”

The SEC lawsuit claims fraud against Terraform and Kwon. In a 2023 press release, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said : “We allege that Terraform and Do Kwon failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure as required for a host of crypto asset securities, most notably for LUNA and Terra USD.”

SEC Lawsuit Claims Fraud

The agency’s accusations note that the company attracted investment by falsely claiming its UST cryptocurrency was stable and its LUNA coins were widely used for transactions on the South Korean app Chai.

Overall, Curran’s testimony aligns with the SEC’s allegations, highlighting instances where he was allegedly pushed to disseminate information he knew to be false. According to the former employee, deception made his role challenging.

Curran also recounted the strain of dealing with internal conflicts and public disputes with the crypto community. Kwon’s aggressive behavior on social media made things worse, he claimed.

Curran told the court: “Terra started depegging while I was in flight over the Pacific.” This PR nightmare left him bewildered upon arrival, he said.

The internal pressures and ethical dilemmas led Curran to leave Terraform.

Terra Employee Reveals Internal Conflict

Brian Curran’s testimony provides insight into Terraform Labs as a company. It appears that not only the investors but also the employees faced challenges. It was on the back of company’s complex and often misleading public statements.

As the court proceedings unfold, the case against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon raises legal and ethical issues. More developments should come in the case in the coming days.

The hearing continues.

About the Author

Shraddha Sharma

Shraddha has around five years of experience as a financial journalist, focusing largely on the Asian markets. Starting her career in Mumbai, India, as a news trainee and producer, she quickly found her niche in crypto. She is keen on learning how emerging technologies affect the broader markets and enjoys explaining complex financial ideas in a way that's easy to understand.

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