Source: Cointelegraph Original: "{title}"

The CEO of the cryptocurrency company SafeMoon, Braden John Karony, cited a directive from the U.S. Department of Justice, requesting the cessation of pursuing certain cryptocurrency-related charges, in an effort to push the court to dismiss the case against him and his company.

In a letter dated April 9 to New York Federal Court Judge Eric Komitee, Karony's attorney, Nicholas Smith, stated that the court should consider the memorandum issued by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on April 7, which disbanded the Justice Department's cryptocurrency division.

In the memorandum, Blanche stated, "The Department of Justice is not the regulatory agency for digital assets." He also added that the Department "will no longer pursue lawsuits or enforcement actions that would impose a regulatory framework on digital assets."

Blanche further instructed prosecutors that in cases where charges such as wire fraud are applicable, they should not determine violations of securities and commodities laws based on whether they believe digital assets are securities or commodities.

Excerpt from Karony's letter to Judge Komitee. Source: PACER

In a footnote of the letter, Karony's attorney wrote that the exemption under the new directive from the Justice Department applies if parties are interested in defending a certain cryptocurrency asset as a security, but he added, "Karony is not interested in this."

In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) simultaneously filed charges against Karony and other SafeMoon executives for securities violations, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The government accused Karony, SafeMoon founder Kyle Nagy, and Chief Technology Officer Thomas Smith of extracting $200 million worth of assets from the project and misappropriating investor funds.

Attempt to Dismiss the Case Again

This letter marks Karony's latest attempt to have the case dismissed. In February, he requested to postpone the trial originally set to begin on March 31, citing that cryptocurrency policies proposed by President Trump could impact the case's progress.

Later that month, Smith changed his plea to guilty, admitting his involvement in an alleged $200 million cryptocurrency fraud scheme. Nagy is currently missing and is believed to be in Russia.

SafeMoon filed for bankruptcy in December 2023, a month after the SEC and the Justice Department filed dual lawsuits against it. The company was also hacked in March 2023, with hackers agreeing to return 80% of the funds.

Related: Amid trade tensions, Bitwise doubles down on predicting Bitcoin price will reach $200,000.

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