After Samourai, DOJ’s money-transmitter theory now looms over crypto mixers

Samourai Wallet’s co-founders received four- and five-year prison terms in the US for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business through their non-custodial crypto mixer.

The co-founders of privacy-focused Bitcoin wallet Samourai Wallet were sentenced to four and five years in prison Wednesday, setting an important precedent as privacy development makes a comeback in crypto.

Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill were sentenced on Wednesday for conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and for facilitating transactions involving criminal proceeds, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said. Prosecutors argued that Samourai’s CoinJoin mixing service helped conceal the movement of illicit funds, even though the wallet was fully non-custodial.

“The sentences the defendants received send a clear message that laundering known criminal proceeds—regardless of the technology used or whether the proceeds are in the form of fiat or cryptocurrency — will face serious consequences,” US Attorney Nicolas Roos said.

Read more