Braden John Karony, former CEO of the SafeMoon project, has been sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in prison on charges of leading a cryptocurrency fraud scheme that caused millions of dollars in losses.
SafeMoon CEO sentenced to over 8 years in prison for crypto fraud, embezzling millions of dollars.
Sentenced to prison for securities fraud, money laundering, and online scams.
According to information from the US Department of Justice, in the sentencing hearing held on Tuesday (February 10th), Judge Eric Komitee of the Eastern District of New York officially sentenced Braden John Karony, former CEO of the SafeMoon project, to 100 months (equivalent to 8 years and 4 months) in prison.
🚨BREAKING: SAFEMOON CEO JOHN KARONY SENTENCED TO 8 YEARS IN PRISON FOR DEFRAUDING INVESTORS
— BSCN (@BSCNews)February 10, 2026
Karony and others were accused of "rugpulling" the safemoon Token by stealing from the liquidity pool which they claimed was "automagically locked"
Karony purchased numerous properties,… pic.twitter.com/ABUto7ycN9
- A federal jury found Braden John Karony guilty of multiple felony charges, including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, cyber fraud, and money laundering, stemming from Braden's use of SFM Token to manipulate prices and misappropriate investor funds.
- In addition to the prison sentence, Karony was also ordered to forfeit approximately $7.5 million, while the amount of compensation for the victims has not yet been determined and will be XEM by the court in subsequent hearings.
Notably, Karony faced a maximum sentence of up to 45 years in prison , but the final sentence was lower than the 12 years recommended by the prosecution.
According to the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS-CI), Karony used the stolen money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including purchasing a $2.2 million home in Utah and a fleet of luxury vehicles such as an Audi R8, Tesla, Ford F-550, and Jeep Gladiator.
Exploiting the SafeMoon tokenomics system to defraud investors.
SafeMoon was one of the most talked-about projects in the cryptocurrency market in 2021, reaching a market Capital of approximately $8 billion. The project's initial success stemmed from its tokenomics model, which applied a 10% transaction tax to each SFM Token Sale .
According to the tokenomics design announced to the community by the SafeMoon team, half of the transaction fees will be redistributed to holder, while the remaining 50% will be put into the liquidity pool to enhance liquidation and support the Token price in the market.
However, investigators say Braden Karony secretly took control of the liquidation pools, contradicting public claims that the assets were "locked" and could not be withdrawn.
In fact, Karony withdrew and misappropriated over $9 million in digital assets from SafeMoon's liquidity pools, an act that US authorities consider a direct betrayal of investor trust.
- Harry Chavis, the IRS-CI agent in charge in New York, said Karony also used complex financial transactions with multiple layers of intermediaries to conceal the flow of illicit funds and legitimize the assets he had acquired.
- Speaking about the case, Federal Prosecutor Joseph Nocella emphasized:
“Karony defrauded investors from all walks of life – including veterans and American workers – for personal gain. Today’s sentence demonstrates that financial criminals will face severe consequences.”
- The third accomplice in the case, Kyle Nagy, believed to be the founder of the SafeMoon platform, remains at large, according to confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Previously, both Karony and Smith had been indicted since 2023 and faced civil lawsuits from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to allegations of illegal securities offerings and investor fraud.
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