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Two men at the center of a major crypto privacy case have shifted gears. After fighting the charges for months, Samourai Wallet’s co-founders, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, have pleaded guilty.
The U.S. government claims their software helped criminals hide over $100 million in dirty money. Until now, Rodriguez and Hill denied everything and tried several times to get the case dismissed. But during a hearing on Wednesday, they told Judge Denise Cote they had changed their minds.
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Rodriguez and Hill initially pleaded not guilty when the Department of Justice charged them in April 2024. Now, they’ve admitted to conspiring to launder money and running an unlicensed money-transmitting business—two crimes that carry a maximum combined sentence of 25 years.
The DOJ accuses the pair of designing Samourai Wallet with features like Whirlpool and Ricochet, which allegedly made it easier to hide the flow of Bitcoin. Authorities say the wallet helped criminals move funds linked to illegal online markets, including the now-defunct Silk Road.
The case has drawn attention for more than just the charges. The indictment includes screenshots of internal chats and posts where Rodriguez and Hill allegedly acknowledged their users were engaged in criminal activity—and even encouraged it.
The defense had fought hard to avoid a trial. After a memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in April stated that the DOJ would no longer go after cases based solely on user behavior or unclear regulations, the Samourai team argued that the case should be dropped.
In May, their attorneys filed a fresh motion. They claimed prosecutors had hidden internal messages from FinCEN (the U.S. financial crimes watchdog) suggesting that Samourai didn’t qualify as a money transmitter. If true, that could mean the founders weren’t required to register the business. But the DOJ countered that they weren’t obligated to provide that information.
Samourai isn’t the only crypto privacy tool under fire. Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm is also facing charges tied to money laundering and sanctions violations. His trial kicked off in July, and it’s likely to draw more debate over how far the government can—or should—go in targeting crypto developers.
Privacy advocates and open-source developers say these cases could have ripple effects. They argue that punishing people for creating tools that others misuse risks criminalizing innovation. Non-custodial wallets like Samourai and Tornado Cash don’t hold user funds directly, and many feel that should make a legal difference.
Earlier this year, one blockchain developer even sued the DOJ, saying the crackdown had gone too far and was scaring away builders from the U.S. crypto space. Us Senators Wyden and Lummis had expressed similar concerns back in 2014.