Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, is facing another federal prison transfer after the drug treatment program at FCI McKean was deactivated. Rodriguez said the warden informed him and about 70 other inmates that they would be relocated to facilities where the treatment program remains available. Completing the program could reduce his five-year sentence by up to one year, making continued access especially important. The Bureau of Prisons has not publicly confirmed individual transfer destinations.
The move is particularly significant for Rodriguez, who previously described his transfer from FPC Morgantown to McKean as the absolute worst 30 days of his life. He said prisoners were placed in ankle shackles and handcuffs attached to waist chains, bused to an airport, and flown to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. Rodriguez said he was largely confined to a cell, housed with inmates of different security classifications, and at one point shared a cell with an inmate serving a murder sentence. He also received only part of a foam mattress, leaving part of his body resting on a metal bunk.
Rodriguez is serving a five-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2025 to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The U.S. Department of Justice said Rodriguez and co-founder William Lonergan Hill knowingly transmitted more than $237 million in criminal proceeds through Samourai. Hill received a four-year sentence.
The case remains tied to a broader fight over when software developers become financial intermediaries. The Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on September 15, with a procedural vote of 49-50 against cloture, short of the 60 votes required. The bill had retained Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provisions intended to protect non-controlling developers from certain money-transmission requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act. The CFTC has separately provided limited relief for passive derivatives software developers, but broader statutory protections remain unresolved.
