Safemoon CEO Convicted on Fraud Charges SFM Price Drops 4 Percent

A New York jury has convicted Braden John Karony, the former CEO of the SafeMoon (SFM) crypto project, on all crucial charges. The verdict, delivered on Wednesday, May 21, followed a two-week trial that concluded Karony and other ex-Safemoon executives defrauded investors by draining purportedly locked liquidity for personal gains. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Karony with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The case prosecutor alleged that Karony, along with Thomas Smith, the former Safemoon CTO, and Kyle Nagy, the project’s creator, misappropriated millions of investors’ funds between 2021 and 2022. Smith has already pleaded guilty to all charges and testified against Karony, while Nagy remains a fugitive, allegedly in Russia. Karony will remain in police custody ahead of his sentencing, with his properties worth over $1.8 million seized.

The Safemoon project has faced significant challenges in regaining market share following the indictment of its former officials. The project's net valuation has dropped from nearly $1 billion to about $7.5 million. Despite the wider altcoin market attempting to follow Bitcoin's bullish sentiment, the Safemoon project has recorded sustained bearish sentiment.

Following the announcement on Wednesday, the SFM price dropped over 4 percent in the past 24 hours to trade at about $0.00002 during the late North American trading session. This decline occurred despite Bitcoin's price rallying over 4 percent in the past 24 hours to trade at about $109k, with BNB and Dogecoin leading the wider altcoin recovery.