SafeMoon Founders Charged with Fraud After Draining $200 Million from Investors
Incident Details
Summary
SafeMoon launched in March 2021, marketed as a revolutionary cryptocurrency with a 'burn' mechanism. Executives secured celebrity endorsements and promoted it aggressively on TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. In October 2023, DOJ charged CEO Braden John Karony, CTO Thomas Smith, and founder Kyle Nagy with securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, alleging they had secretly drained approximately $200 million from investor funds for personal use including luxury cars, real estate, and travel. SafeMoon allegedly allowed its founders to manipulate the market while misrepresenting the token's security. The SEC filed parallel civil charges. Millions of retail investors lost money as the token declined 95%+ from its peak.
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