Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) have formally requested a judge to schedule an October retrial for Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on two criminal counts that a jury previously deadlocked on. In a letter filed with U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, prosecutors asked the court to set a new trial date to retry Storm on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions.
The request follows a four-week trial in Manhattan last year, where a 12-member jury reached a split verdict. The jury convicted Storm on one count of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business but was unable to reach a unanimous decision on the money laundering and sanctions-related conspiracy charges. This deadlock led the court to declare a mistrial on those two counts.
Prosecutors, led by U.S. Attorney for Manhattan Jay Clayton, proposed the retrial begin on or around October 5-12, 2026, and last approximately three weeks. They noted they were prepared to retry the case as early as spring (March-May), but Storm's defense lawyers indicated they would not be available until late 2026.
Roman Storm publicly reacted to the filing on social media, stating the government is seeking another trial "with the hope of getting a different answer." He emphasized the gravity of the charges, noting that the two unresolved counts together carry a potential sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison. "For writing open-source code. For a protocol I don't control. For transactions I never touched," Storm wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He also highlighted the significant financial strain of another trial, stating his legal defense funds were largely exhausted after the initial trial.
Storm's legal team had previously filed a motion in October 2025 to acquit him of the money transmitting charge, arguing prosecutors failed to prove he intended to help bad actors use Tornado Cash. Prosecutors acknowledged this pending motion, scheduled for argument in early April, but proceeded with the retrial request.
The move has drawn criticism from the crypto advocacy community. Amanda Tuminelli, Legal Chief at the DeFi Education Fund, called the Justice Department's decision "incredibly disappointing," citing the prosecution's previous failures to convince a jury and alleged misunderstandings of blockchain evidence.
This development occurs against a backdrop of evolving U.S. policy discussions on crypto privacy tools. A recent U.S. Treasury report to Congress acknowledged some lawful uses of crypto mixers, while a memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the DOJ "is not a digital assets regulator" and would avoid actions that superimpose regulatory frameworks on digital assets—a point Storm referenced in his post. Judge Failla has not yet ruled on the prosecutors' request for a new trial date.
