U.S. court sentences former SafeMoon CEO to 8 years in prison

A U.S. court has sentenced Braden John Karony, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of the crypto project SafeMoon, to eight years in prison.

According to CoinDesk on the 10th (local time), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York sentenced Karony to 100 months in prison and ordered him to pay $7.5 million in restitution, along with the forfeiture of two residential properties.

Karony was found guilty last year on charges of deceiving investors during the operation of SafeMoon and misappropriating project funds for personal use. The DOJ said Karony and his accomplices siphoned off millions of dollars through the crypto venture and spent the money on personal luxuries such as upscale homes and sports cars.

Federal prosecutors also said Karony was charged with manipulating the price of the SafeMoon token and illegally controlling the liquidity pool to extract funds. After a trial lasting about three weeks, Karony was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said, "Karony provided false information to countless investors, including service members and ordinary workers, creating thousands of victims," adding that authorities would "respond forcefully to economic crimes that undermine trust in the digital asset market."

One accomplice, Thomas Smith, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, but his sentence has not yet been determined. Another alleged accomplice, Kyle Nagy, is reported to be currently at large.