Well, butter my biscuit and call me surprised! Braden John Karony, the former CEO of SafeMoon (aka the guy who thought “moon” was a financial strategy), has been sentenced to 8 years in the clink for his starring role in a crypto fraud scheme. Turns out, “to the moon” actually meant “to the slammer.”
U.S. District Judge Eric Komite dropped the hammer in a Brooklyn federal court after a jury said, “Yeah, no, he’s guilty.” This all went down in May 2025, because apparently crypto scams are the gifts that keep on giving.
The Deets on the Sentence
Court docs reveal Karony was found guiltier than a reality TV star at a lie detector test. Charges? Oh, just conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He’s also gotta cough up $7.5 million, and restitution to victims is TBD. Oh, and he’s losing two houses. Guess those “moon” tokens didn’t buy him a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Meanwhile, his buddy Thomas Smith sang like a canary in February 2025 and is waiting for his own judgment day. Kyle Nagy? Still playing hard to get. Classic.
“Karony lied to investors from all walks of life-including military veterans and hard-working Americans-and defrauded thousands of victims in order to buy mansions, sports cars, and custom trucks,” said United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. Basically, he traded people’s dreams for a garage full of midlife crises.
FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle (great name, by the way) said Karony abused his position like it was an all-you-can-eat buffet. He swiped $9 million in crypto to fund a lifestyle that screams, “I’m compensating for something.” Highlights include a $2.2 million Utah mansion, a $277,000 Audi R8, a Tesla, a custom Ford F-550, and Jeep Gladiators. Because nothing says “I’m a legit CEO” like a fleet of overcompensating vehicles.
IRS-CI Special Agent Harry T. Chavis added that Karony tried to hide his tracks like a kid with cookie crumbs on his face. Spoiler: it didn’t work. Law enforcement traced the transactions and exposed the whole scheme. Oopsie.
Liquidity Pool: More Like a Money Pit
SafeMoon tokens launched in March 2021 with a 10% tax on every transaction. Half was supposed to go to token holders, and the other half to the liquidity pool. Sounds legit, right? Wrong. Turns out, it was more of a “liquidity black hole” where Karony and his pals siphoned off millions for their own fun.
In just a few months, SafeMoon hit an $8 billion market cap. Impressive? Sure. Honest? Not so much. Prosecutors say Karony and his crew lied about everything-locked reserves, token usage, liquidity pool management, you name it. Basically, they treated SafeMoon like their personal ATM.
The reality? They had full access to the liquidity pools and used them like a piggy bank. Mansions, sports cars, custom trucks-all on the backs of investors who thought they were buying into the next big thing. Spoiler: the only thing that went “to the moon” was Karony’s ego.
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2026-02-14 23:08