A federal jury in Brooklyn has discovered Braden John Karony, former CEO of SafeMoon, responsible of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and cash laundering. The conviction follows an intensive 12-day trial and an 18-month investigation into some of the high-profile crypto fraud circumstances in current reminiscence.
Prosecutors alleged that Karony and his associates intentionally deceived traders by falsely claiming SafeMoon’s liquidity pool was locked and untouchable, when in actuality, they have been stealing tens of millions from it to fund a lavish life-style.
In accordance with the official press release by the DOJ, proof offered in court docket revealed that Karony used investor funds to buy luxurious automobiles, together with an Audi R8 and a Tesla, in addition to multimillion-dollar actual property in Utah. Whereas Karony maintained that liquidity funds may very well be accessed solely in emergencies, testimony from SafeMoon’s former CTO, Thomas Smith, who took a plea deal, painted an image of calculated deception.
Smith admitted the chief workforce routinely coordinated public statements to cowl their tracks and manipulate investor sentiment, all whereas personally buying and selling SafeMoon tokens in ways in which influenced the asset’s worth. Karony’s conviction additionally consists of the forfeiture of at the very least $2 million value of property, together with residential properties. With sentencing looming, he faces a most of 45 years in jail.
US Lawyer Joseph Nocella described SafeMoon as a “entrance for theft” and Karony as somebody who “lined the driveways of his million-dollar houses with luxurious automobiles.” Whereas Smith awaits sentencing and Kyle Nagy, the mission’s elusive founder, stays at massive.
In an official assertion, HSI New York Appearing Particular Agent in Cost McCormack stated,
“Steered by his egocentric needs and insatiable greed, Braden John Karony handled tens of millions of {dollars} in traders’ funds as his personal private checking account. The defendant will quickly be buying and selling his sprawling actual property and luxurious automobiles for a jail cell inside the 4 partitions of a federal penitentiary.”
Safemoon had filed for Chapter 7 chapter in December 2023.
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