A federal jury in Brooklyn has found SafeMoon’s CEO, Braden Karony, accountable for $2 billion in crypto fraud. He was found guilty on indictment for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He also pleaded guilty to misleading the investors of SafeMoon.
Braden could go to prison for up to 45 years, with the compensation of giving up his properties worth about $2 million. For 12 days, a court case was led by Judge Eric R. Komitee, who made sure the trial ran fairly and obeyed the law.
Braden Karony and his partners had deceived SafeMoon investors. They said the money in SafeMoon’s “locked” liquidity pools was safe and only used for business needs. Instead, they secretly took millions of dollars for themselves.
As per the press releases of the US Department of Justice, Karony used this stolen money to buy expensive things like a $2.2 million house in Utah, fancy cars such as an Audi R8 and a Tesla, and custom trucks. The scam took advantage of a 10% fee on every SafeMoon transaction, which was supposed to help investors. Instead, Braden Karony secretly traded SafeMoon to make millions for himself.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr., criticized Karony, saying SafeMoon was a fake setup that stole from investors and harmed the cryptocurrency market. One of Karony’s partners, Thomas Smith, admitted his guilt and is waiting for his punishment, while another, Kyle Nagy, is still hiding.
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