The Eastern District of New York sentenced former SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony to eight years in prison.
In addition to imprisonment, the 29-year-old founder must pay $7.5 million and transfer two residential properties to the authorities.
In May, a jury found Karony guilty of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and money laundering. According to the FBI, he misappropriated over $9 million of user funds, spending the money on luxury items.
SafeMoon’s tokenomics included a 10% fee on each transaction. Half of this amount was supposed to be locked in a liquidity pool to support the ecosystem, but Karony and his accomplices diverted these assets for personal use.
With investor funds, the top manager purchased a mansion in Utah for $2.2 million, Audi R8, Tesla, and a custom Ford F-550 pickup truck.
Earlier in 2023, the Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission also charged SafeMoon creator Kyle Nagy, who remains at large.
In February 2025, the project’s CTO, Thomas Smith, pleaded guilty to two counts.