{"id":11843,"date":"2025-05-08T01:15:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T23:15:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/?p=11843"},"modified":"2025-05-08T01:15:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T23:15:43","slug":"former-safemoon-ceo-declares-innocence-points-finger-at-founder-as-trial-commences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/08\/former-safemoon-ceo-declares-innocence-points-finger-at-founder-as-trial-commences\/","title":{"rendered":"Former SafeMoon CEO Declares Innocence, Points Finger at Founder as Trial Commences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div data-v-60373258=\"\">\n<p>Braden John Karony, the previous CEO of cryptocurrency company SafeMoon, made an out-of-court declaration asserting his innocence as his criminal trial commenced in New York.<\/p>\n<p>In a May 6 post on X, after court proceedings had presumably concluded for the day, Karony <a data-ct-non-breakable=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CptHodl\/status\/1919931787662311647\" rel=\"null\" target=\"null\" text=\"null\" title=\"null\">stated<\/a> he was not guilty and \u201cdid not engage in fraud\u201d in connection to media reports regarding his trial. The former CEO, alongside SafeMoon originator Kyle Nagy and former chief technology officer Thomas Smith, faced charges in 2023 for allegedly \u201cdiverting and misappropriating millions of dollars\u2019 worth\u201d of the platform\u2019s SFM token.<\/p>\n<p>As reported by the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) on May 6, Karony <a data-ct-non-breakable=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/www.law360.com\/corporate\/articles\/2336338\/safemoon-ceo-tells-jury-founder-to-blame-for-investor-fib\" rel=\"null\" target=\"null\" text=\"null\" title=\"null\">suggested<\/a> that Nagy, who reportedly absconded to Russia following the filing of charges, was accountable for some of the alleged deceit at SafeMoon. On the trial&#8217;s initial day, after jury selection, Smith reportedly <a data-ct-non-breakable=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/protos.com\/john-karony-trial-starts-with-a-confused-witness-and-safemoon-merch\/\" rel=\"null\" target=\"null\" text=\"null\" title=\"null\">testified<\/a> as a witness for the prosecution, accompanied by a SafeMoon victim.<\/p>\n<p>The trial, anticipated to continue until May 26, has arguably garnered less media focus and analysis compared to other crypto-related cases, such as the 2023 trial of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and the sentencing of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Karony entered a plea of not guilty to charges of securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy, and has been released on a $3 million bond since February 2024.<\/p>\n<p><template data-ct-widget=\"buzzsprout\" data-buzzsprout-podcast-id=\"2040516\" data-buzzsprout-episode-id=\"16834588\"\/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related: <\/strong><\/em><a data-ct-non-breakable=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/alex-mashinsky-celsius-prison-sentencing\" rel=\"null\" target=\"null\" text=\"null\" title=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/alex-mashinsky-celsius-prison-sentencing\"><em><strong>What do crypto users desire to see happen to Alex Mashinsky?<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Numerous prominent individuals from the crypto sector who faced legal troubles refrained from publicly commenting on social media until their cases concluded, likely upon counsel&#8217;s advice. Such assertions may be utilized in court.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Trump&#8217;s interim appointee takes charge without Senate confirmation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Karony\u2019s case, originally filed in November 2023, arose as Donald Trump appointee Joseph Nocella took on the role of interim US Attorney for the district court. The EDNY has previously dealt with cases <a data-ct-non-breakable=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/crypto-influencer-prison-wire-fraud\" rel=\"null\" target=\"null\" text=\"null\" title=\"null\">involving claims of crypto fraud<\/a>, but it remains uncertain whether political factors will <a data-ct-non-breakable=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/safemoon-braden-karony-policy-changes-securities\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" text=\"null\" title=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/safemoon-braden-karony-policy-changes-securities\">play a role going forward<\/a>, considering Trump\u2019s ties to the crypto industry.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Here\u2019s How the Trump Family Manipulates the Crypto Market: Dan Held Interview\" width=\"814\" height=\"458\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6UnogdVQWrE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In the adjacent US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Alex Mashinsky is set to be sentenced on May 8. The former CEO of Celsius admitted guilt to two felony counts in December 2024. Prosecutors have requested that the judge impose a 20-year sentence.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Magazine: <\/strong><\/em><a data-ct-non-breakable=\"null\" href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/adam-back-blockstream-bitcoin-etfs-whitepaper-satoshi-nakamoto-cointelegraph-profile\/\" rel=\"null\" target=\"null\" text=\"null\" title=\"null\"><em><strong>Bitcoiner Adam Back discusses Blockstream conspiracy theories and the Satoshi question<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p><template data-name=\"subscription_form\" data-type=\"markets_outlook\" label=\"Subscription Form: Markets Outlook\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/news\/safemoon-trial-john-karony-blames-founder?utm_source=rss_feed&#038;utm_medium=rss_tag_regulation&#038;utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Braden John Karony, the previous CEO of cryptocurrency company SafeMoon, made an out-of-court declaration asserting his innocence as his criminal trial commenced in New York. In a May 6 post on X, after court proceedings had presumably concluded for the day, Karony stated he was not guilty and \u201cdid not engage in fraud\u201d in connection<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[2358,2357],"class_list":["post-11843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy-and-markets","tag-blames-founder-as-trial-begins","tag-return-a-list-of-comma-separated-tags-from-this-title-ex-safemoon-ceo-claims-innocence"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Former SafeMoon CEO Declares Innocence, Points Finger at Founder as Trial Commences - WSJ-Crypto<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wsj-crypto.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/08\/former-safemoon-ceo-declares-innocence-points-finger-at-founder-as-trial-commences\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former SafeMoon CEO Declares Innocence, Points Finger at Founder as Trial Commences - WSJ-Crypto\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Braden John Karony, the previous CEO of cryptocurrency company SafeMoon, made an out-of-court declaration asserting his innocence as his criminal trial commenced in New York. 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