CEO of Digital Asset Company SafeMoon Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison

[zasad@]

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/ceo-digital-asset-company-safemoon-sentenced-100-months-prison-multi-million-dollar
Braden John Karony Stole Millions of Dollars of Investor Assets to Fund Lavish Lifestyle
"Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Braden John Karony, the Chief Executive Officer of SafeMoon US LLC, a digital asset company registered in Utah (SafeMoon) was sentenced by United States District Judge Eric Komitee to 100 months in prison for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in a decentralized finance digital asset called “SafeMoon.”  As part of the sentence, Karony was ordered to forfeit approximately $7.5 million.  The amount of restitution to the victims will be determined at a later date.  Karony was convicted by a federal jury following a three-week trial in May 2025.  The jury also issued a verdict to forfeit two residential properties.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI New York); and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York) announced the sentence.

“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,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Today’s sentence demonstrates that there are significant consequences for financial crimes. Our Office will continue to vigorously prosecute economic crimes that harm investors and weaken societal trust in the stability and security of digital asset markets.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its work on the case.

“Not only did Braden John Karony abuse his position as CEO, but he also betrayed his investors’ trust by stealing more than nine million dollars in digital assets from his company to fund his lavish lifestyle,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.  “The FBI is committed to addressing fraud in the digital asset marketplace to level the playing field for Americans.”"

[SuperBitMan]

Well good for him. And those who are always looking for a scheme that you can start earning good amount of money hope you guys are learning, because I really don’t understand why people will always believe all this get rich quick schemes that are everywhere. In my country there was a scheme that came and a lot of people got scammed after some years I was surprise to see people still investing on a scheme and they got scammed again, I’m very careful with anything that’s so good to be true.
And what is surprising is that fact that he scammed people and then decided to use the money for house and car, some people are just unbelievable was he thinking he can get away with that. He should enjoy in prison .

[Yamane_Keto]

Karony stole $9 million, recovered $7.5 million, and will be released after less than 100 months or 8 years. Such sentences are insufficient to deter theft from investors, and victims may not receive full compensation. At least 25 years in prison might make people like him think twice

[yhiaali3]

I remember SafeMoon token very well from several years ago, I remember it generating a lot of buzz at the time. Fortunately, I didn't invest in the token because I usually avoid such projects that generate a lot of buzz in a short period of time, as I believe most of them are scams that exploit their popularity to deceive as many people as possible.

In my opinion, the penalty is somewhat fair considering the stolen amount of approximately $9 million which isn't a large sum compared to other fraud cases.

This is a very positive point for (SEC) which played a significant role in the case.

[SuperBitMan]

Karony stole $9 million, recovered $7.5 million, and will be released after less than 100 months or 8 years. Such sentences are insufficient to deter theft from investors, and victims may not receive full compensation. At least 25 years in prison might make people like him think twice

I think the jury’s judgement was okay, they recovered $7.5 million out of the $9 million, meaning the money lift to be recovered is $1.5 million, but you need to remember that The jury also issued a verdict to forfeit two residential properties, and when this happens the properties will be sold and they can recover $1 million from the sells or they may even recover $1.5 million and when that happens they will be able to pay those investors That lost their money there full money. But if they can’t get there full money I believe it will be a little lost for them.
Investors should be careful, avoid get rich quick schemes and every scheme that is too good to be true.


The law as it is and not as it ought to be. The jury followed the law.

[hugeblack]

The amount of restitution to the victims will be determined at a later date. 

Returning money to victims is a priority, but not everyone receives compensation; in fact, the majority receive nothing. To receive compensation, there must be registration, which means participating in the criminal case, and then there are administrative fees, time limits, and other charges.

Furthermore, the total compensation is usually less than the amount of money that was stolen.

[zasad@]

Karony stole $9 million, recovered $7.5 million, and will be released after less than 100 months or 8 years. Such sentences are insufficient to deter theft from investors, and victims may not receive full compensation. At least 25 years in prison might make people like him think twice

Maybe a bullet to the forehead right away, why waste taxpayers' money on keeping a fraudster in prison? (Sarcasm)

[Z-tight]

Karony stole $9 million, recovered $7.5 million, and will be released after less than 100 months or 8 years. Such sentences are insufficient to deter theft from investors, and victims may not receive full compensation. At least 25 years in prison might make people like him think twice

Lol, sbf was sentenced to the same number of years in prison as the one you are proposing in this case. Would you put their offences on the same level? I'm afraid, a lot of people would disgaree if you do.

Karony is to forfeit $7.5m and two residential properties, this would almost cover the stolen amount of $9m. It should go a long way in restitution for the victims of this scam scheme, when the authorities determine how it is to be paid. So on that note, the sentencing is not the worst you'll see.

[zasad@]

The amount of restitution to the victims will be determined at a later date. 

Returning money to victims is a priority, but not everyone receives compensation; in fact, the majority receive nothing. To receive compensation, there must be registration, which means participating in the criminal case, and then there are administrative fees, time limits, and other charges.

Furthermore, the total compensation is usually less than the amount of money that was stolen.

I agree that a person must be recognized as a victim for compensation to be paid. This is standard practice.
The government likes to receive money, not to give it away. Most small losses are simply unprofitable to recover due to the time and expense involved.

[Veloxcrypt]

This is another painful reminder that the biggest risk in this space isn’t Bitcoin itself; it's the people running centralized projects around it. When a CEO misuses investor funds for a lavish lifestyle, that’s not a “crypto failure"; it’s old-school fraud wrapped in new technology.
What stands out to me is how often these cases involve control over funds. Bitcoin was designed to remove the need to trust individuals with custody. Yet many investors still hand over that control to companies and personalities. That’s where things usually go wrong.
If anything, situations like this reinforce the importance of self-custody, transparency, and understanding what you’re investing in. Decentralization only works when users actually practice it.
Hard lesson for many, but hopefully more people start separating Bitcoin from the behavior of bad actors in the industry.

[Z-tight]

Hard lesson for many, but hopefully more people start separating Bitcoin from the behavior of bad actors in the industry.

It is up to them, not like anyone in the network should care. Criminals steal fiat from people daily, but you never hear the narrative of 'fiat being bad'. But when criminals steal BTC, it is common to hear people talking about BTC in itself, rather than the actions of both the thief and the user who lost their keys. Not like it matters what people think though, it surely doesn't affect the network in anyway.

I agree that a person must be recognized as a victim for compensation to be paid.

I believe it would involve kyc procedures. And sometimes this process could be very strict, that even legitimate creditors just forfeit their funds because they struggle to pass.

[SmartGold01]

Hard lesson for many, but hopefully more people start separating Bitcoin from the behavior of bad actors in the industry.

It is up to them, not like anyone in the network should care. Criminals steal fiat from people daily, but you never hear the narrative of 'fiat being bad'. But when criminals steal BTC, it is common to hear people talking about BTC in itself, rather than the actions of both the thief and the user who lost their keys. Not like it matters what people think though, it surely doesn't affect the network in anyway.

Of course this is how those who don’t know about bitcoin talks ill about it, without them knowing that same thing is applicable to fiat. In bank today armed robbery breaks into bank to steal the notes from them, you would never hear about people talking how bad is fiat. But when they don’t understand the whole concept you see them talking against bitcoin how it’s used for bad acts without knowing that same thing is applicable with fiat.