Kyle Nagy
Founder/creator of SafeMoon. Charged by the SEC and DOJ in 2023 over the SafeMoon scheme; per the DOJ he remains at large while co-defendants Braden Karony (convicted) and Thomas Smith (pleaded guilty) faced sentencing.
Also known as: Kyle Nagy
Note: Nagy is charged and, per the DOJ, remains at large; the allegations against him have not been adjudicated.
Bio
Kyle Nagy created SafeMoon. The SEC and DOJ alleged that SafeMoon's team misrepresented the project's "locked" liquidity while diverting and misappropriating assets worth more than $200 million. [1][2]
Status
Charged in November 2023, Nagy has — per the DOJ — remained at large. CEO Braden Karony was convicted by a jury (May 2025) and sentenced to 100 months (February 2026); CTO Thomas Smith pleaded guilty (February 2025). [1][2]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Sources (2)
See also
Luke BelmarIndividualsCryptocurrency influencer Luke Belmar (@lukebelmar on X) became the subject of controversy following allegations related to the promotion of a memecoin. Critics on social media alleged that Belmar used a series of posts referencing a forthcoming cryptocurrency project and a large-scale airdrop to generate interest in a token without explicitly identifying a specific contract address. Belmar published multiple posts discussing an upcoming memecoin, describing plans for what he characterized as a major airdrop and making comparisons to other cryptocurrency projects. Because no contract address was publicly provided, several tokens emerged claiming association with his statements. Critics alleged that this ambiguity enabled speculation around multiple tokens while avoiding a direct endorsement of any particular asset.
HEX / PulseChain (Richard Heart)ProjectsCrypto projects (HEX, PulseChain, PulseX) created by Richard Heart (Richard Schueler). In July 2023 the U.S. SEC sued him for offering unregistered securities that raised $1B+ and for allegedly misappropriating ~$12M for luxury goods (including a 555-carat diamond). A court dismissed the case in 2024 for lack of U.S. jurisdiction; there was no finding of wrongdoing and Heart denies the allegations.
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.
