The luxury purchases told the story prosecutors needed: a $2.2 million Utah mansion, an Audi R8 sports car, and custom-made pickup trucks. Former SafeMoon CEO Braden Karony spent lavishly while his investors watched their digital assets vanish.
A federal judge sentenced Karony to 100 months in prison this week for orchestrating a scheme that drained $9 million from SafeMoon’s liquidity pool in 2021. The sentence comes nine months after his conviction last May on conspiracy charges involving securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.
FBI Assistant Director James C. Barnacle, Jr. didn’t mince words about Karony’s conduct. “He abused his position as CEO and betrayed his investors by stealing more than nine million dollars in digital assets to fund his lavish lifestyle,” Barnacle said. Prosecutors showed how Karony turned investor money into his personal shopping spree.
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U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. pointed out that Karony’s lies hurt investors from all walks of life. The court ordered Karony to hand over roughly $7.5 million, though judges will figure out exactly how much victims get back in the future.
Co-Conspirators Also Face Justice
Thomas Smith, SafeMoon’s former chief technology officer, admitted guilt in February 2025 to securities and wire fraud conspiracy charges. He’s waiting to hear his sentence. Meanwhile, platform creator Kyle Nagy is still on the run.
Karony’s now part of a growing club nobody wants to join: cryptocurrency executives doing hard time for crimes during the 2021-2022 market frenzy. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is serving 25 years. Ex-Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky got 12 years.
President Donald Trump made clear in January he won’t pardon Bankman-Fried, even though he let former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao off the hook last October. But Bankman-Fried hasn’t given up, and he recently asked federal appeals judges for another chance for trial. These cases show federal prosecutors mean business when it comes to crypto fraud, especially schemes targeting regular investors during market booms.
