- Braden John Karony, former CEO of SafeMoon, is facing serious federal charges in the United States.
- Launched in 2021, SafeMoon cryptocurrency reached $8B marketcap before collapsing.
- The indictment alleges that funds from the liquidity pool supposed to be “locked” and inaccessible, were diverted for personal use.
- Karony maintains his innocence.
Former CEO of SafeMoon Cryptocurrency firm Braden Karony, is found guilty of defrauding investors millions in crypto in a digital asset case.
Karony is convicted for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering by a U.S. federal jury. This is after a two-week trial in Brooklyn’s Eastern District of New York.
Sentencing is yet to be scheduled and he could face up to 45 years in prison.
Prosecutors accused Karony of orchestrating a scheme to deceive investors about the safety and transparency of SafeMoon, a token that once enjoyed a market capitalization exceeding $8 billion before collapsing amid fraud allegations.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Karony and his co-conspirators falsely claimed that funds in SafeMoon’s liquidity pool were locked, while secretly accessing and diverting those funds for personal use.
Among the misappropriated funds, Karony allegedly spent millions on luxury real estate, a Tesla, an Audi R8, and several custom trucks.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said in a statement that
“SafeMoon digital asset was anything but safe and turned out to be pie in the sky for investors who were deliberately misled by Karony.”
Launched in 2021, SafeMoon marketed itself as a community-driven token with a 10% transaction fee structure designed to reward holders and stabilize liquidity.
Despite public claims that they did not trade SafeMoon themselves, Karony and others were found to have repeatedly bought and sold the token, including during periods of heightened investor interest.
According to the Justice Department, Karony personally profited by more than $9 million. Of the other individuals charged in connection with the scheme,
co-defendant Thomas Smith has pleaded guilty and third, Kyle Nagy, remains a fugitive.