Samourai Wallet developers plead guilty to operating an unlicensed crypto money transmitting service, forfeiting $238M in a key privacy case.
Author: Akshat Thakur
July 31, 2025 — The developers behind Samourai Wallet have pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, agreeing to forfeit nearly $238 million as U.S. authorities intensify their crackdown on crypto privacy tools.
Samourai Wallet developers Keonne Rodriguez and William “Bill” Hill changed their pleas to guilty on July 31, 2025, admitting to running an unlicensed money transmitting business. Their guilty pleas came during separate hearings in the Southern District of New York.
Initially charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed service, both men accepted a plea deal that dropped the former charge, which carried up to 20 years in prison. The remaining offense carries a maximum of five years.
As part of the plea deal, Rodriguez and Hill will forfeit a total of $237.6 million. $6.3 million is to be paid ahead of their sentencing date in November. They remain under house arrest, with Hill ordered to stay in New York despite his residence in Portugal.
The court’s decision reflects increased pressure on crypto services that enhance user anonymity, particularly those viewed as aiding illicit finance.
Their guilty plea coincided with the conclusion of the Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s trial in the same courthouse. Storm faces similar charges over building another privacy-focused crypto mixer. The jury began deliberations just hours after the Samourai pleas were entered.
A source told CoinDesk that the plea deal was timed with the ongoing Tornado Cash proceedings.
Samourai Wallet had been one of Bitcoin’s most prominent privacy tools, offering coin mixing to obscure transaction trails. U.S. prosecutors argue that these services have been used to launder over $100 million in criminal funds.
With mounting legal action against such projects, the case marks a critical moment in how courts treat developers of open-source privacy software in the crypto space
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