Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, was sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday by a U.S. federal judge in the Southern District of New York for operating a crypto mixing platform that prosecutors said helped launder millions of dollars in illicit funds.
Rodriguez was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine, matching the maximum prison term sought by prosecutors. He and co-founder William Lonergan Hill had pleaded guilty in July after initially contesting the charges, with Rodriguez expressing remorse during the hearing and stating he would not break the law again.
Prosecutors emphasized that the wallet's Whirlpool feature was designed to conceal the origin of Bitcoin transactions, enabling users to engage in criminal conduct, and that both founders publicly encouraged moving illegal proceeds through the platform. Hill is scheduled for sentencing on November 19.
This case is part of a broader U.S. crackdown on crypto privacy tools, with courts classifying mixing software as unlicensed money-transmitting services. In a related context, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm was found guilty on similar charges in August, highlighting ongoing legal battles over privacy technologies.
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