Braden John Karony, former chief executive of crypto firm SafeMoon, has publicly declared his innocence as his criminal trial got underway this week in the Eastern District of New York.
In a post on X, Karony said he “did not commit fraud,” pushing back against media reports covering the first day of court proceedings. Karony, along with SafeMoon founder Kyle Nagy and ex-chief technology officer Thomas Smith, faces charges of securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. The charges stem from allegations that the trio misappropriated millions of dollars’ worth of the project’s native SFM token.
Court documents allege the defendants marketed SafeMoon as a secure, decentralized investment while secretly draining funds for personal use, including luxury cars and real estate. Nagy, who reportedly fled to Russia after charges were filed in late 2023, was referenced in court filings by Karony as bearing responsibility for some of the misconduct. On the first day of trial, prosecutors brought forward a SafeMoon investor and Thomas Smith, who is cooperating with the government, as witnesses.
Karony, who pleaded not guilty and has been out on a $3 million bond since February 2024, made his public comments outside court channels—a move legal experts say could carry risks. Many defendants in high-profile crypto cases remained silent during proceedings, often under legal counsel’s guidance to avoid public statements being used against them.
The trial is scheduled to continue through May 26 and has so far attracted less public attention than recent crypto scandals, such as the prosecution of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and the sentencing of Binance’s Changpeng Zhao.
The SafeMoon case was filed in November 2023, shortly before Joseph Nocella, a former Trump appointee, was named interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. While the EDNY has overseen several notable crypto prosecutions, it remains unclear whether political affiliations will influence the case.
Meanwhile, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky is set to be sentenced on May 8 in the Southern District of New York after pleading guilty to two felony charges in December. Federal prosecutors have requested a 20-year prison term.