Lawyers for Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm are considering a mistrial motion after contesting the credibility of the prosecution's key witness, Hanfeng Ling, who claimed funds stolen in a 2021 "pig butchering" scam passed through the crypto mixer. Defense attorney David Patton presented blockchain analysis showing no evidence linking Ling's stolen crypto to Tornado Cash, a finding supported by Ethereum security expert Taylor Monahan, who stated on X: "There’s no Tornado Cash. I have no clue what they were tracing... scammers do not use Tornado Cash."
In a pivotal ruling, Judge Katherine Failla denied the defense's motion to block testimony from AnChain.AI investigator Philip Werlau. Werlau will assert that Storm could have implemented a "user registry smart contract" to deter criminal use of the platform—a feature deemed technologically feasible though never deployed. The prosecution, which has called hackers, FBI agents, and financial investigators, expects to rest its case by Friday. FBI supervisory special agent Joel DeCapua testified his team tracked 16 transactions exceeding $5 million each through Tornado Cash.
Storm faces charges of conspiracy to launder money, operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and violate U.S. sanctions, carrying a maximum 45-year prison sentence. His trial follows the conviction of Tornado Cash co-developer Alexey Pertsev, sentenced to over five years in the Netherlands for similar charges. Judge Failla indicated she is reviewing precedents from high-profile crypto cases including FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried and OneCoin's Karl Greenwood as proceedings continue, with the trial expected to conclude in 2-3 weeks.