​Former SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony Found Guilty on Felony Counts

A New York jury has found Braden John Karony, the former CEO of cryptocurrency firm SafeMoon, guilty on three felony counts. The verdict concludes a two-week trial that reportedly offered a rare courtroom examination into the internal operations of a digital asset company.

According to reports from the May 21 session in federal court in Brooklyn, Karony was convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud, and money laundering after less than a day of deliberations. The verdict follows a sweeping 2023 indictment that also named Thomas Smith, SafeMoon's former CTO, and Kyle Nagy, the platform's creator. Prosecutors had alleged that the trio siphoned off millions of dollars' worth of SafeMoon's native token, SFM, from company funds. Thomas Smith reportedly took the stand as a cooperating witness during the trial. Kyle Nagy, meanwhile, is believed to have fled to Russia and remains at large.
The case has garnered attention from both legal and cryptocurrency circles, being viewed as an early test of interim U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella's approach to crypto fraud enforcement. Mr. Nocella, appointed by Donald Trump, assumed his role on May 5, the same day jury selection for the trial began.
SafeMoon, which was once a viral token promoted by influencers and retail traders, has faced increasing scrutiny as regulators intensify their efforts against what they describe as deceptive practices within the rapidly growing but often opaque digital assets sector. Court documents allege that the defendants marketed SafeMoon as a secure, decentralized investment while secretly draining funds for personal use, including luxury cars and real estate. Karony reportedly referenced Nagy in court filings as bearing responsibility for some of the misconduct.
Karony, who had pleaded not guilty and has been out on a $3 million bond since February 2024, made public comments outside of court channels. Legal experts have suggested that such actions could carry risks for defendants in high-profile cases, as many typically remain silent during proceedings, often under legal counsel's guidance, to avoid public statements being used against them. The trial has reportedly attracted less public attention compared to other recent high-profile crypto scandals, such as the prosecution of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and the sentencing of Binance's Changpeng Zhao.