Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill indicated on Tuesday that they intend to plead guilty to charges related to their involvement in the crypto mixing protocol.
Separate filings were submitted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, with the change in plea to be addressed before the court on Wednesday morning.
Rodriguez and Hill originally pleaded not guilty in April 2024 to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Prosecutors alleged the business processed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions, facilitating activities including those tied to illicit marketplaces like Silk Road.
Samourai co-founders face 25-year prison sentence
Rodriguez, Samourai’s CEO, faced charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering (maximum 20 years) and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business (maximum five years), potentially exposing them to a combined 25-year prison sentence.
Judge Denise Cote has scheduled Wednesday morning hearings to discuss the requested change in plea. It remains unclear from the initial documents how the guilty plea may impact their sentencing exposure.
Trial for Rodriguez and Hill was initially scheduled to begin November 3, 2024.
Samourai co-founders tried to toss the case
The plea change announcement follows nearly four months after the co-founders sought to have the charges dismissed. They referenced an April 7 memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche which suggested prosecutors typically wouldn’t pursue charges against those behind crypto mixers for “unwitting violations.”
One month later, Samourai’s defense lawyers claimed federal prosecutors had suppressed an earlier opinion advising that the company technically might not require a money transmitting license.
Both attempts to dismiss the case failed.
Samourai Wallet operated similarly to other crypto mixer protocols, receiving user funds and blinding their transaction origins.
Guilty pleas come amid Roman Storm’s trial
Another prominent figure in the crypto privacy space is subject to trial. Roman Storm, a co-founder of Tornado Cash, is currently on trial facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations (maximum sentence of 45 years if convicted on all counts).
Tornado Cash developers argue an unfavorable outcome for Storm could establish precedent criminalizing open-source privacy tools, potentially stifling legitimate DeFi innovation and undermining principles of privacy rights.
