Former Terraform Employee Reveals Anger at Writing False Posts on Behalf of Kwon
In the ongoing court trials related to Terraform Labs’ fraud allegations surrounding the collapse of its TerraUSD stablecoin in 2022, a former employee has spoken out about the challenges he faced while working at the company. Brian Curran, the former head of communications at Terraform, testified before a Manhattan federal jury, expressing his frustration and anger over his role in spearheading public relations efforts for the company.
Curran stated that although he aimed to be transparent with users in his PR work for Terraform, he was instructed by the company to write false posts. He specifically mentioned his troubled working relationship with Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform. Curran revealed that he felt deceived when Kwon asked him to write a post that he knew to be false, which greatly angered him.
One incident highlighted during the trial was the de-pegging of Terraform’s UST stablecoin in May 2021, causing concern within the community. Curran testified that he wrote a post, which he knew was false, claiming that the de-pegging simply needed time to recalibrate. This triggered online infighting between Terraform, Kwon, and the crypto community, resulting in a PR headache for Curran.
During the same period, former Terraform business development head Jeff Kuan informed Curran that Kwon had called members of the community “cockroaches” on Twitter. In response, Curran jokingly replied, “never going camping again lol.”
Curran eventually left Terraform because he grew weary of operating in an information vacuum. Reflecting on the events, he shared that Terra began depegging while he was traveling to Singapore to meet coworkers, leaving him feeling confused upon arrival.
Meanwhile, Do Kwon, the focal point of the SEC trial, has been facing charges related to violating registration and anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act. These charges originated from South Korea, where an arrest warrant was issued in September 2022 for violating the country’s national markets law. Kwon was later detained in Montenegro in March 2023, as he attempted to use a fraudulent Costa Rican passport to travel to Dubai.
The court proceedings shed light on the turbulent internal dynamics at Terraform and the actions that allegedly led to the company’s stablecoin collapse. As the trial continues, more details are expected to emerge, providing further insight into the case.