SafeMoon executives charged in US with fraud related to crypto token

An American flag waves outside the U.S. Department of Justice Building in Washington, U.S., December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The founder and two top executives at SafeMoon, whose namesake crypto token was once valued at more than $8 billion, have been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with running a fraud that diverted tens of millions of investor dollars so they could buy luxuries and line their pockets.

An indictment unsealed on Wednesday in Brooklyn charged founder Kyle Nagy, 35; Chief Executive Braden John Karony, 27; and former Chief Technology Officer Thomas Smith, 35, with three criminal counts each of conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.