{"id":14327,"date":"2025-02-21T13:46:57","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=14327"},"modified":"2025-02-21T13:46:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T13:46:57","slug":"safemoon-cto-pleads-guilty-to-charges-in-multimillion-dollar-crypto-fraud-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=14327","title":{"rendered":"SafeMoon CTO Pleads Guilty To Charges In Multimillion-Dollar Crypto Fraud Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Thomas Smith, the chief technology officer (CTO) of SafeMoon LLC, has pleaded guilty to two charges related to a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency fraud scheme, according to a court filing dated 20 February 2025. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The plea marks a significant development in the high-profile case brought by US prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Smith <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.law360.com\/articles\/2297795\/safemoon-ceo-s-trial-not-delayed-by-crypto-policy-shifts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">appeared before Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> in a Brooklyn federal court to withdraw his previous not-guilty plea. He admitted to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/best-ai-crypto-coins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">10 Best AI Crypto Coins to Invest in 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Judge Formally Accepts New Plea<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Judge Pollak has recommended that US District Judge Eric Komitee, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">who is<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> overseeing the case, formally accept the new plea.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If convicted at sentencing, Smith faces a maximum of 25 years in prison for the securities fraud conspiracy charge and up to 20 years for the wire fraud conspiracy charge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The charges stem from a joint investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the SEC, which in November 2023 accused Smith, SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony, and SafeMoon creator Kyle Nagy of misleading investors. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Prosecutors claim the trio falsely assured buyers of SafeMoon (SFM) tokens that the token\u2019s liquidity pool was locked and inaccessible to company insiders. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">3 years ago we exposed SAFEMOON&#8217;s fraud. <br \/>They told their community it was just &#8220;FUD&#8221;.<br \/>Today their CTO Thomas Smith pled guilty. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MgUK6R0FcC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">pic.twitter.com\/MgUK6R0FcC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/coffeebreak_YT\/status\/1892684591753785686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">February 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In reality, authorities allege<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">, <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">the executives diverted over $200 million in investor funds for personal use, purchasing luxury vehicles and real estate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">SafeMoon, a once-popular token, reached a market capitalization of between $5.7 billion and $8 billion before <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">suffering<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> a massive collapse. On 20 April 2021, its value plummeted by nearly half after reports emerged that the liquidity pool was not secured as previously claimed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">While Smith and Karony were arrested following the charges, Nagy remains at large and is believed to have resurfaced in Russia. Karony has maintained his innocence, filing a motion to dismiss the charges in April 2023, which was denied. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Earlier this month, Karony sought to delay his trial, citing potential changes in US crypto policy under President Donald Trump that could impact his case. However, Judge Komitee rejected the request, setting the trial to begin with opening statements on April 7.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/analysis\/crypto-forecast-best-crypto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">10 Coins with High Returns: Crypto Forecast 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">SafeMoon CEO Faces Legal Struggles<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Last year, Karony faced legal challenges as his defense team from Petrillo Klein Boxer withdrew in January due to a lack of funds, leaving him with a public defender. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Prosecutors allege Karony, along with Nagy and Smith, misappropriated millions from supposedly \u201clocked\u201d liquidity pools meant to safeguard customer funds. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Instead, the trio allegedly diverted the money for personal use, purchasing luxury items, including a custom Porsche, other high-end vehicles, and real estate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The US Attorney\u2019s Office criticized the executives for prioritizing personal wealth over investor trust, despite SafeMoon reaching an $8 billion valuation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Ivan J Arvelo of Homeland Security Investigations <\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ice.gov\/news\/releases\/2-charged-nft-money-laundering-rug-pull-digital-blockchains\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">stated<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> that the defendants\u2019 greed resulted in significant financial harm to clients. Karony, currently out on a $3 million bail, has no confirmed date for his next court appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"editor-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/new-cryptocurrency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Best New Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways\">\n<h3 class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__title\">Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__list\">\n<li class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__list-item\">\n        <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">SafeMoon CTO Thomas Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in a multimillion-dollar crypto fraud case.<\/span>    <\/li>\n<li class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__list-item\">\n        <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Prosecutors allege Smith and other executives misappropriated over $200 million in investor funds for personal luxury purchases.<\/span>    <\/li>\n<li class=\"nnbtc-key-takeaways__list-item\">\n        <span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Smith faces up to 25 years in prison, while SafeMoon\u2019s CEO awaits trial amid ongoing legal challenges.<\/span>    <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/news\/safemoon-cto-pleads-guilty-to-charges-in-multimillion-dollar-crypto-fraud-case\/\">SafeMoon CTO Pleads Guilty To Charges In Multimillion-Dollar Crypto Fraud Case<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/\">99Bitcoins<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Smith, the chief technology officer (CTO) of SafeMoon LLC, has pleaded guilty to two charges related to a multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency fraud scheme, according to a court filing dated 20 February 2025. The plea marks a significant development in the high-profile case brought by US prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Smith appeared [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-14327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}