Keonne Rodriguez of Samourai Wallet pleads not guilty to money laundering and delivery charges.
According to CoinDesk, the co-founder of Samourai Wallet pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges related to developing tools that make it difficult to track cryptocurrency transactions, as U.S. authorities crack down on privacy-focused technologies. It was reported that the claim was made.
Keonne Rodriguez, 35, faces two charges. She is charged with conspiracy to launder money and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business. Combined, the charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Rodriguez and his co-founder William Lonergan Hill were arrested last week when authorities shut down the Samurai Wallet service. Prosecutors said at a trial held in a Manhattan court that Samurai Wallet processed more than $2 billion in illegal funds from 2015 to 2024. This includes more than $100 million in laundered proceeds on dark web marketplaces, they allege.
The arrests are part of a larger crackdown on so-called cryptocurrency mixers, tools that shuffle digital token transactions to obfuscate their provenance. Last September, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm pleaded not guilty to similar mixer-related money laundering charges.
Mixers are designed to disrupt the tracking of cryptocurrency transactions, making them popular with malicious actors who need to launder the proceeds of their crimes.
Rodriguez was released on $1 million bail, according to CoinDesk. His next hearing is scheduled for May 14 in Manhattan.
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About the author
Elizabeth Napolitano is a data reporter covering business and technology news with a focus on cryptocurrency. Before she joined The Block, Elizabeth reported on BigTech, AI, crypto, and video games for CBS Moneywatch. As a CoinDesk reporter, she covered DeFi, NFTs, and US courts. She received a master’s degree in journalism from CUNY. X: Follow her at @LizKNapolitano.
