LONG READ: How John Karony went from visionary to convicted fraudster
On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in a windowless, high-ceilinged courtroom in Brooklyn, Judge Eric Komitee read the jury’s verdict. On the charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud: guilty. On the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering: guilty. On the charge of conspiracy to commit securities fraud: guilty. Former SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony had been convicted of a conspiracy to defraud investors in the notorious token. Karony, tall and bearded, sat through the trial in a razor-sharp blue suit, absorbing evidence against him with calm detachment. He barely reacted to the verdict. By contrast, former SafeMoon investors around the world celebrated wildly. For them, Karony’s conviction was vindication after a nearly four-year struggle to prove they’d been ripped off. Over the course of a 12-day trial, government prosecutors had convinced a jury that Karony and his co-conspirator had lied about SafeMoon’s Features and ...