SafeMoon CEO Found Guilty in $200M Crypto Scam—Another ’DeFi Darling’ Bites the Dust
Braden Karony, former CEO of the once-hyped SafeMoon project, just joined the growing list of crypto execs facing prison time. A federal jury convicted him on all counts tied to a $200 million fraud scheme—proving even meme-coins can have real-world consequences.
From moon-shot to meltdown
The verdict caps a spectacular collapse for SafeMoon, which rode the 2021 meme-coin frenzy to a $5.7 billion market cap. Investors bought the ’reflective rewards’ pitch—until the SEC noticed the math didn’t add up.
The fine print they ignored
Turns out those 100% APY promises relied on classic Ponzi mechanics. Karony’s team allegedly siphoned funds for luxury cars and Hawaii real estate while retail bagholders watched their ’safe’ investment evaporate.
Another cautionary tale for the crypto wild west—where the only thing getting decentralized is accountability.
Karony orchestrated a deceptive scheme
Karony and his co-conspirators launched SafeMoon in March 2021, marketing it as a secure DeFi token with a self-sustaining liquidity mechanism.
They claimed a 10% tax on every transaction WOULD reward holders and reinforce market liquidity by funding locked pools. In reality, Karony retained full access to those liquidity pools and funneled millions of dollars into personal accounts.
He used the stolen funds to purchase a $2.2 million home in Utah, properties in Kansas, two Audi R8s, a Tesla, and customized trucks.
According to US Attorney Joseph Nocella:
“Karony didn’t build a SAFE financial product — he built a pipeline for theft. He looted investor funds and used them to fill his garages and bankroll his lifestyle.”
Agents from the IRS-Criminal Investigation, FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations traced the misappropriated assets through a web of pseudonymous wallets and centralized exchange accounts.
Complex crypto trail
IRS-CI and its cyber and J5 task forces followed the digital trail, uncovering how Karony laundered the funds. They collaborated with global enforcement partners from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the UK to crack the cross-border operation.
IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis, Jr. said:
“Karony lined his driveways with sports cars while deceiving millions. We tracked his crypto movements and exposed the scheme for what it was — outright theft.”
The FBI and HSI also confirmed Karony masked his personal trades of SafeMoon during peak prices, generating additional illegal profits while assuring the public that insiders weren’t manipulating the token.
