Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, the co-founders of Samourai Wallet, are expected to plead guilty to U.S. charges related to operating their Bitcoin mixing service. Court documents indicate that they will change their initial not-guilty pleas during separate hearings on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. The charges stem from allegations that Samourai Wallet facilitated the laundering of over $100 million.
Rodriguez and Hill were arrested in April and charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. These charges carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. The Justice Department (DOJ) stated that Samourai Wallet executed over $2 billion in unlawful transactions. Prosecutors argued that the platform allowed users to obscure the origins of Bitcoin transactions, making it difficult to trace funds linked to illicit activities such as drug trafficking, ransomware schemes, and other financial crimes.
Samourai Wallet marketed itself as a "Premium Privacy Service" for transactions, even those involving the proceeds of "Illicit Activity". The platform's "Mixing Service" and features like "Whirlpool" and "Ricochet" were designed to enhance user anonymity. Since 2017, over 80,000 BTC (worth over $2 billion at the time of each transaction) passed through Whirlpool and Ricochet, generating an estimated $4.5 million in fees for Samourai.
The decision to plead guilty comes as the trial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, who faces similar charges, nears its end. Storm is accused of money laundering and violating U.S. sanctions, charges he denies. The Samourai Wallet case and the Tornado Cash trial highlight the increasing regulatory scrutiny of privacy-focused tools in the cryptocurrency space.
The Samourai Wallet founders had previously attempted to have the case dismissed, pointing to a DOJ memo suggesting regulators would not pursue cases against crypto companies based solely on user actions. Their legal team also raised concerns about withheld evidence, including internal discussions at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) questioning whether Samourai Wallet met the legal definition of a money transmitter. Prosecutors countered that these internal views were not relevant under legal disclosure rules.
The guilty pleas mark a turning point in a closely watched case involving cryptocurrency privacy tools. The outcome could set a precedent for how U.S. authorities handle privacy-centric crypto services amid ongoing debates over financial privacy and digital asset regulation. The U.S. Department of Justice has increasingly targeted such services, reflecting broader efforts to enforce transparency in digital asset transactions amid rapid growth in crypto adoption.
