Keanne Rodriguez, co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Samourai Wallet, was sentenced to five years in prison on November 7th. Following this, on November 19th, co-founder William Hill received a four-year prison sentence for their roles in facilitating illegal transactions through their platform.
Samourai Wallet Founders Charged
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Samourai Wallet was implicated in enabling over $237 million in illicit transactions.
Rodriguez, serving as the Chief Executive Officer, and Hill, the Chief Technology Officer, participated in a conspiracy that operated as a money transmitting business, knowingly transmitting criminal proceeds, according to the complaint.
The funds laundered through Samourai were linked to various criminal activities, including drug trafficking, cyber intrusions, fraud, operations in sanctioned jurisdictions, murder-for-hire schemes, and a child pornography website.
Prosecutors alleged that both Rodriguez and Hill actively promoted Samourai to criminal users and encouraged illegal activities. Hill marketed the mixer as a service for transmitting criminal proceeds on Dread, a darknet forum where discussions around illegal activities are common.
In one exchange, a user sought advice on how to make their Bitcoin (BTC) “untraceable” and “clean.” Hill suggested that Samourai’s Whirlpool feature was a superior option compared to its competitors for such purposes.
Similarly, in an X (previously Twitter) interaction back in July 2020, Rodriguez encouraged hackers to “feed” their gains into Samourai’s Whirlpool, expressing disappointment when those hackers opted for a different mixing service.
‘Money Laundering For Bitcoin’
Evidence presented in court indicated that both defendants were well aware that Samourai Wallet was being used for money laundering. In a WhatsApp conversation, when asked about the concept of “mixing,” Rodriguez described it as “money laundering for Bitcoin.”
Furthermore, the company’s marketing materials acknowledged that their customer base would include individuals from “Dark/Grey Market participants” seeking to move proceeds from illicit activities.
Alongside their prison sentences, Rodriguez and Hill were each given three years of supervised release and fined $250,000. They also agreed to forfeit little over $6.3 million, representing the fees generated by Samourai Wallet, as part of a forfeiture order that totals more than $237 million in traceable criminal proceeds.
“The sentences handed down to the defendants serve as a stern warning that laundering known criminal proceeds—no matter the technology used or the form of the assets—will incur serious legal repercussions,” stated US Attorney Nicolas Roos.
He emphasized the detrimental effects that money laundering services have on victims, making it nearly impossible to recover stolen funds.
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