The post Are Samourai wallet founders going to jail? Execs set to plead guilty in DOJ case appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

The years-long federal case against the founders of privacy-focused Samourai Wallet is taking a major turn. Summary Samourai Wallet founders to plead guilty in money laundering case. The outcome of the case may influence the ongoing Tornado Cash trial. The co-founders face up to 25 years in prison if sentenced. According to court filings dated July 29, Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill will formally plead guilty in their money laundering case. The two were arrested back in April 2024, after the U.S. Department of Justice accused them of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and facilitating more than $100 million in illegal transactions. Prosecutors claim the founders positioned Samourai as a “safe haven” for mixing crypto transactions, inviting and enabling illicit actors to use the platform to evade sanctions. After their indictment, both men pleaded not guilty and pushed back, arguing the case lacked legal grounds. For a while, it looked like the tide might turn in their favor. Earlier this year, the defense revealed that FinCEN had privately determined Samourai didn’t meet the definition of a money transmitter and accused the DOJ of suppressing the evidence. That revelation sparked speculation that the charges could be dropped entirely. However, the luck didn’t last long, and both founders are now staring down at up to 25 years behind bars if sentenced.  Beyond the potential jail time, the guilty pleas also carry weight for another high-profile case still playing out. How this impacts Tornado Cash’s battle Roman Storm, the co-founder of Ethereum-based mixer Tornado Cash, is currently on trial for similar charges. The DOJ accused Storm and his co-developers of enabling the laundering of funds through Tornado’s smart contracts, some of which were later linked to North Korean hackers and sanctioned entities. One of Storm’s co-founders, Alexey Pertsev, has…

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Filed under: News - @ July 30, 2025 12:33 pm