The CEO of SafeMoon is out on bail, but he may lose his attorneys

Braden John Karony, the CEO of SafeMoon, is out on a $3 million bond, but his attorneys want to withdraw, arguing he hasn't paid their fees.

Braden John Karony, the CEO of SafeMoon, a bankrupt cryptocurrency company, was granted bail and may now be under the supervision of a public defender because of a "lack of funds to pay for private counsel."

Karony has been involved in an alleged "multimillion-dollar international fraud scheme." In November 2023, the US Justice Department filed charges against Karony and his associates for conspiring to commit securities, wire fraud, and money laundering.

But as early as January 22, Karony's attorneys, Petrillo Klein & Boxer, sought to step down from their representation, citing the SafeMoon CEO's "apparent lack of funds" to cover the cost of private counsel.

Petrillo partner Adam Schuman filed a revised move to resign as counsel on February 12th, citing SafeMoon's previous declaration on January 22nd that it would pay Karony's legal bills, but that company ultimately failed to provide the money for the firm's retainer and declared bankruptcy.

Additionally, Schuman mentioned that Karony has a public lawyer assigned by a magistrate judge as of February 9, and the two are "now in direct communication."

Judge Eric Komitee gave Karony's attorneys instructions on January 31 to assist him in applying for a Criminal Justice Act attorney, which provides representation to indigent defendants. After that, he would "consider and likely grant" their application, even though failure to pay legal fees is typically not a good enough reason to withdraw.