Attorneys for Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm may request a mistrial. This move follows the defense’s discovery that prosecutors plan to call Hanfeng Lin—a Taiwanese national residing in Georgia—as a witness. Lin’s connection to Tornado Cash is considered tenuous by Storm’s legal team.
If the motion for a mistrial succeeds, Storm’s criminal trial would terminate. Prosecutors retain the option to revive the charges with a different jury.
The development represents a dramatic shift in a closely monitored trial that has entered its second week. Storm, facing up to 45 years in prison, has been charged with conspiracy to launder money, conduct unlicensed money transmission, and violate U.S. sanctions.
Crypto supporters worry a conviction could have a chilling impact on the creation of privacy-focused software and decentralized finance (DeFi). Storm’s defense has attracted substantial funding from notable backers, including Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
On Monday, David Patton, one of Storm’s attorneys, questioned the foundation of the government’s first witness testimony. The witness, Hanfeng Lin, a woman living in Georgia, recounted falling victim to a crypto scam known as a “pig butchering” scheme in 2021. She contacted a crypto recovery service in early 2022, which informed her that some of the stolen crypto linked to her case was laundered through Tornado Cash.
Prosecutors presented Lin’s testimony as evidence that illicit funds were deposited in Tornado Cash and underscored her decision to alert the protocol’s co-founders, highlighting its potential misuse.
However, Patton stated that legal research conducted over the weekend indicated Lin’s cryptocurrency never passed through the Tornado Cash system. “They called a very sympathetic alleged victim,” Patton reportedly said, “whose connection to Tornado Cash, based on our research over the weekend, remains unverifiable.”
Patton argued that if verified, the connection is insufficient. He informed the presiding judge, Katherine Polk Failla, that he would seek to exclude Lin’s testimony and considered filing a motion for a mistrial.
Storm’s defense team raised this procedural point shortly after crypto security researcher Taylor Monahan voiced similar concerns. Monahan publicly stated she found no evidence linking Lin’s crypto to Tornado Cash, an analysis later echoed by pseudonymous crypto sleuth ZachXBT.
Prosecutors contested the defense’s preliminary findings. Assistant U.S. Attorney Than Rehn asserted that the government had prepared evidence demonstrating Lin’s crypto did traverse Tornado Cash. He indicated that an upcoming government witness would further substantiate this link.
The trial commenced on Monday and is expected to span across three weeks.
