Samourai Wallet Co-Founders to Plead Guilty in $100M Bitcoin Laundering Case

The co-founders of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, are set to plead guilty to charges alleging their bitcoin mixing service helped cybercriminals launder over $100 million. According to court filings on Tuesday, the pair will enter guilty pleas in Manhattan’s U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York during hearings scheduled for Wednesday.

Rodriguez and Hill were arrested in April and initially pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Each charge carries a potential maximum sentence of 25 years. Their trial was previously scheduled to begin in early November.

The development coincides with the high-profile trial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, accused of similar charges plus violating international sanctions. Storm, who has pleaded not guilty, faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.

Samourai Wallet’s legal team had sought dismissal of the case, citing a Department of Justice memo suggesting regulators would not pursue cases against crypto companies for end-user actions. They also highlighted withheld evidence from FinCEN, which reportedly questioned whether Samourai qualified as a money transmitter. Prosecutors rejected these claims, maintaining the charges.

The sudden decision to plead guilty marks a turning point in one of the most closely watched cases involving cryptocurrency privacy tools. It underscores increasing regulatory pressure on bitcoin mixers and their role in facilitating illicit transactions amid heightened U.S. scrutiny of crypto compliance and anti-money-laundering enforcement.

This case is expected to set a precedent for how U.S. authorities handle privacy-focused crypto services amid ongoing debates over financial privacy and digital asset regulation.