Misappropriated $9 million of public funds for extravagance! Former SafeMoon CEO sentenced to 8 years for fraud

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that Braden John Karony, the former CEO of SafeMoon and currently 29 years old, was sentenced to 100 months (approximately 8 years and 4 months) in prison for embezzling investors’ funds for personal luxury.

Prosecutors stated that although Braden John Karony publicly claimed to lead investors “safely to the moon (SafeMoon),” he secretly regarded investors as ATMs. According to investigations, he stole over $9 million in digital assets from the company to purchase a $2.2 million property in Utah, an Audi R8 supercar, a Tesla, and a high-priced custom Ford F-550 pickup truck.

In addition to serving an 8-year prison sentence, the court also ordered the forfeiture of approximately $7.5 million in illicit gains and two properties belonging to Braden John Karony. James Barnacle, Assistant Director of the FBI New York Office, stated in a release: “Braden John Karony not only abused his position as CEO but also betrayed investors’ trust by stealing over $9 million in digital assets from the company to sustain a lavish lifestyle.”

In May of this year, a federal grand jury convicted Braden John Karony on charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

SafeMoon LLC issued a cryptocurrency called SafeMoon in 2021, which at one point had a market cap exceeding $8 billion and was highly popular among retail investors. The most attractive mechanism for investors was the unique “transaction tax,” where a 10% fee was deducted whenever tokens were transferred or traded—5% was redistributed to holders, and the remaining 5% was injected into the liquidity pool.

However, prosecutors pointed out that all of this was a complete scam. Braden John Karony and his accomplices actually retained control over the liquidity pool and, without informing investors, embezzled millions of dollars for personal use.