TechFlow news: According to announcements from the U.S. Department of Justice and SEC, executives of SafeMoon, a DeFi protocol within the BNB Chain ecosystem, have been charged with participating in a fraud scheme and issuing unregistered crypto securities.
The indictment alleges that SafeMoon founders and executives Braden John Karony, Kyle Nagy, and Thomas Smith are charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Karony and Smith were arrested on Wednesday, while Nagy remains at large.
SafeMoon issued the decentralized finance digital asset SFM. According to a court filing, SFM had a market capitalization exceeding $9 billion and more than 2 million holders. Prosecutors say the defendants intentionally accessed and misappropriated over $200 million worth of tokens from the SFM liquidity pool, using the funds to purchase luxury vehicles, real estate, and personal investments.
