Ex-SafeMoon CEO Braden Karony sentenced to over 8 years on fraud charges

Ex SafeMoon CEO Braden Karony has received a 100-month sentence for stealing millions in customer funds and using them for personal gains.

A United States District Judge passed the sentencing in a Brooklyn federal court on Monday. Karony was convicted last year in May, when a federal jury found him guilty of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

Besides the prison term, Karony has been asked to forfeit $7.5 million and two residential properties. He would also be required to pay restitution for the damages caused, but the exact amount had not been determined.

“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,” U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr said in an accompanying statement.

Karony and company misled investors

Karony and his co-conspirators—Thomas Smith, who served as SafeMoon’s chief technology officer, and Kyle Nagy, the project’s creator—had orchestrated a major fraud and managed to defraud over a million investors. According to details submitted in court, they imposed a 10% tax on every transaction, marketing it as a mechanism to support liquidity pools that were supposedly locked to prevent fund withdrawals by insiders.

Federal prosecutors were able to prove that the defendants maintained secret access to these pools and were effectively using them as a slush fund to finance their lavish lifestyle.

The SafeMoon token (SFM) at one point managed to reach a market capitalization of over $8 billion during the 2021 crypto boom, but subsequently crashed more than 98% after the exposure of the fraud and the bankruptcy of the company in late 2023.

Smith pleaded guilty in February 2025 and testified against Karony in a deal that led to his sentencing. Meanwhile, Nagy remains at large, with some reports suggesting he may have fled to Russia.