John Karony

John Karony, a 29-year-old Army combat veteran and former CEO of SafeMoon, received a guilty verdict in a federal cryptocurrency case that his defense argues was fundamentally flawed. According to his counsel, the charges arose during the Biden-era crackdown on digital assets, despite unclear regulations and conflicting international guidance about whether the SafeMoon token was a security. Karony—who joined the company at age 25 with no prior crypto experience—oversaw a token that grew to a $9 billion market cap before the 2021 crypto market crash impacted the entire sector. Prosecutors later alleged that SafeMoon misled users about “locked” liquidity pools, but parallel civil claims were dismissed, and the DOJ itself issued a policy memo discouraging prosecutions under similar circumstances.

Karony’s attorneys argue that his trial was marred by serious due-process violations. The government wrongly froze his assets, leaving him with only one court-appointed lawyer against a team of federal prosecutors. Just days before trial, prosecutors dumped thousands of blockchain records that formed the backbone of their case, and the court denied a continuance. Cross-examination was severely restricted, and a leading expert who concluded that investors suffered no losses from the alleged misconduct was barred from testifying. Only thirteen out of SafeMoon’s two million users claimed losses—and none tied those losses to company statements. The defense states that Karony did not commit fraud, did not receive a fair trial, and served honorably in Afghanistan, making him an exceptional candidate for clemency.