The developers behind Samourai Wallet pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money‑transmitting business.

The plea deal secures dismissal of the parallel money laundering conspiracy charge and caps potential prison time at five years. It also includes $237 million in forfeiture and a $400,000 fine.

As journalist Matthew Russell Lee reported on July 30, sentencing is set for November 6. Additionally, the defendants agreed not to appeal if the sentence is five years or less, according to Bitcoin Policy Institute’s head of policy, Zack Shapiro.

Plea deal

Lee reported that Judge Jed Rakoff pressed Keonne Rodriguez to state his criminal conduct “in his own words.”

Rodriguez told the court that his role at the firm meant that he was aware users were using the wallet “to launder criminals’ money.” Prosecutors argued that the knowledge alone is sufficient for a 60 month sentence even if they were not involved in the laundering.

Shapiro noted that had both counts gone to verdict, combined federal guidelines would have pointed to 160 to 210 months. By pleading to the unlicensed transmission conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 1960, the developers face a statutory maximum of five years rather than a potential decade-plus exposure.

Defense‑side reaction framed the outcome as a pragmatic hedge rather than a legal endorsement of the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) theory.

Amanda Tuminelli, executive director and CLO at the DeFi Education Fund argued that the DOJ “misinterprets Section 1960 whenever they accuse a non‑custodial software dev of ‘transferring funds on behalf of the public,’”

Tuminelli added that the pleas don’t change the policy fight over how the law should apply to open‑source wallet software. She said:

“Plea deals are risk calculations.”

Case background

US and international authorities shuttered Samourai on April 24, seizing its domain and web infrastructure in collaboration with the Icelandic and Portuguese police, the IRS, the FBI, and Europol.

The authorities also issued a warrant that removed the Android app from Google Play for US users.

Prosecutors alleged founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill ran a mixing service through Samourai that processed more than $2 billion in Bitcoin tied to illicit activity, including $100 million linked to dark‑web markets. 

The app, one of the best‑known privacy‑focused Bitcoin wallets, had been downloaded over 100,000 times.

Mentioned in this article

In a letter filed today to the Southern District of New York (SDNY), prosecutors in the Samourai wallet case said they had not withheld exculpy evidence and petitioned the judge to denial a request for defense of the hearing to discuss the later disclosure of important information obtained by the prosecutor almost two years ago.

Earlier in the week, the defense stated in a letter learning that Finsen had “strongly suggested” that the Samourai wallet was not acting as a financial nature due to the non-radical nature of the product in discussions between certain Finsen members (details of the two sections below these two sections) and on August 23, 2023.

This information was revealed thanks to a Brady A move submitted by the defense. (This type of movement is named after Brady vs Maryland A Supreme Court lawsuit in 1963. Brady The rules provide for clear evidence to be provided to the defense, making it available as part of the due process.

Given that one of the two claims facing Samourai developers is a conspiracy to run an unauthorized remittance business, some people felt this new information could be revealed.

No dismissal, no hearing

However, a letter from prosecutors today states that they have no intention of dropping the case, and does not feel that the hearing requested by the defense is justified.

“There is no basis for the hearing, and there is no relief. The disclosure itself indicates that the government is not violating. BradyThe prosecutor said in the letter. “The government disclosed all known substantive communications between the prosecutor’s team and Finsen a few months before the trial.”

The prosecutor highlighted the conspiracy to commit money laundering, the second charge, and added that he plans to proceed with the case.

“As allegedly, Samourai has washed more than $100 million in criminal revenue from other criminal sources: illegal dark web markets such as the Silk Road and the Hydra market. Prosecutors wrote.

Downplay input from Fincen

Furthermore, the prosecutors argued that the fact that he recently disclosed communications with Fincen was unrelated to the case, as many of the acts claimed were not dependent on Fincen regulations.

They also downplayed the importance of what Fincen employees shared with prosecutors: Kevin O’Conner (the emerging technology section of Fincen’s virtual assets chief and enforcement and compliance department) and Lorena Valente (the employee of Fincen’s policy department when she spoke to the lawsuit).

The prosecutor called O’Conner and Valente’s opinions “personal, informal and warning,” adding that they had already provided “substantial email communications between the prosecutor’s team and members of Fincen in connection with the August 23, 2023 call.”

They went on to say, “Individual Fincen employees have not spoken on behalf of Fincen, and have not provided Fincen’s opinion and “didn’t decide what Fincen would decide whether this question was presented to Fincen’s policy committee.” ”

no Brady violation

In the final section of the letter, the prosecutor argued that if he had not provided specific details with Fincen on August 23, 2023, he was not violated by not providing specific details with Fincen up to this point in the pre-trial process.

“The record shows that it didn’t exist Brady “In this case,” the prosecutor wrote.

“The government responded to requests for this information, and disclosed the content of this informal conversation as defense before the pretrial move, about seven months before the trial,” they added. “We don’t need any more.”

Finally, according to the Second Circuit ruling, the prosecutors mentioned it in letters, as long as the defense owns it. Brady The government has not taken away the defense of legitimate processes in time for its effective use.

What’s coming next?

It is unclear when Judge Berman will respond to today’s letter from the prosecutors.

The opening moves of the defense were originally scheduled for today, but have now retreated for two weeks. A week after the opening move, the prosecutors respond to the opening ceremony of the defense.

At the time of the final pre-trial hearing, the prosecutors are expected to provide expert disclosures on July 15, 2025, and by August 8, 2025, the defense is expected to provide theirs.

The trial is scheduled to begin on November 3, 2025.

If you wish to donate to the Defense Fund for Samourai developers, you can do so through the P2P Rights Fund.

Last month, the Treasury lifted sanctions on tornado cash. In response, many have rekindled the Trump administration’s call and stopped accusations against Keonne Rodriguez and William Ronergan Hill, as well as William Ronergan Hill, the developer of Samourai Wallet, who is currently being charged in the Southern District of New York.

What many seem to overlook is that the reversal of the Treasury sanctions on tornado cash revealed the Treasury’s stance on privacy services. And it doesn’t look good.

Tornado Cash removal from OFAC’s SDN list follows the lawsuit of Tornado Cash Users by Tornado Cash users, Van Loon v. It became known as the US Treasury Department.

The lawsuit was appealed in the Fifth Circuit. There, three judges ruled that sanctions for software like Tornado Cash were in fact illegal because OFAC’s SDN list is reserved for businesses, foreigners and property.

The Fifth Circuit directed Texas District Court to grant the plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment. This constitutes a binding court where software like tornado cash is not authorized by the US government under current sanctions laws.

Now the Treasury is fighting back in an attempt to avoid a ruling that strips its authority by claiming that the tornado cash has been removed from the OFAC list is not necessary. However, without judgment, agents can continue to sanction software that functions like tornado cash, and even reauthorize tornado cash itself.

The reversal of tornado cash sanctions has little to do with the prosecution of Samourai wallet developers, as they are not accused of avoiding sanctions.

However, the criminal prosecution of the tornado cash developer Rome’s storm is extremely important to their case. Because they were charged with unlicensed money senders and conspiracy to run the plot, as they could set precedents for the prosecution of Rodriguez and Hill.

It has long been understood that both Tornado Cash and Samourai wallets are purely non-mandatory software projects and were exempt from falling into the anti-money laundering framework that normally applies to banks. If Storm is found guilty in July, the government would have a much easier time filing the two Bitcoin developers.

While many have hoped that the new administration would put an end to cryptocurrency developers’ witch hunts, Trump’s Treasury Department appears to be equally at a disadvantage in developing the privacy code.

As Concincenter pointed out at the end of last year, crypto-based administrations are not necessarily comparable to a free regime of subcompetence and financial obligations. It seems we are now witnessing what this means. While lawsuits have been dropped against “crypto casinos” like Coinbase and Uniswap, privacy software developers such as Rodriguez and Hill continue to face decades of threats in prison.

The Treasury appears to reason these prosecutions with their hard-line stance on terrorist financing and cybercrime. As the agency wrote in its announcement of a reversal of tornado cash sanctions:

“The Treasury is committed to using authorities to expose and disrupt the ability of malicious cyber actors to benefit from criminal activity through the exploitation of the digital assets and the ecosystem of digital assets.”

With what appears to be the first, the Treasury has issued another warning user Privacy Services states that “US people should pay attention before engaging in transactions that present such risks.”

In emails addressing the reversal of sanctions on tornado cash, blockchain surveillance firm Chain Orisis appears to reflect the sentiment of the Ministry of Finance.

Messaging seems clear. Although it is not officially illegal to use or process mixing services, the Treasury appears to be trying to keep all options open in order to pursue fees for those involved in future privacy services.

As discussed in some Bitcoin magazine print articles, this stance is not a surprise, but rather an immediate consequence of integrating digital assets into the US regulatory framework. The more important Bitcoin is to the government, the more important it becomes to eradicate acts that are considered illegal or criminal.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent said of the reversal of Tornado Cash sanctions: “Securing the digital asset industry from abuse by North Korea and other illegal actors is essential to establishing US leadership and ensuring that Americans can benefit from financial innovation and inclusion.”

Although North Korea is said to rely on cryptocurrency funding for its operations, the overall share of illegal funds within the cryptocurrency space is minimal, with chain melting itself making it just 0.14% of all on-chain transactions.

At the same time, there are many reasons why people use privacy services. With all transactions visible on-chain, privacy services help people keep their transaction history and net worth private, which protects physical security.

Jameson Lopp regularly highlights in its physical Bitcoin attack repository, having information about Bitcoin disclosure can lead to violent home invasions, tricks and, in some cases, murders.

While the government’s ongoing crackdown on privacy services appears to be unproportionate to eliminating 0.14% of illegal actors, the Trump administration appears to be in no hurry to do the right thing to protect Americans and #Freesamourai.

This is a guest post by L0LA L33TZ. The opinions expressed are entirely unique and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.