Digital Currency Scrambler Founder Gets 4-Year Sentence
Samourai Wallet Co-Creator Bill Hill Given 4-Year Prison Term for Operating Without a License
Hill’s age of 67 and recent diagnosis of autism appeared to factor into the sentencing judge’s decision.
By Cheyenne Ligon|Edited by Nikhilesh DeUpdated Nov 19, 2025, 10:54 p.m. Published Nov 19, 2025, 10:53 p.m.
What to know:
- William "Bill" Hill, a founding member of Samourai Wallet, received a four-year sentence for his involvement in developing the bitcoin mixing platform.
- Judge Denise Cote pointed to Hill's autism diagnosis and age as contributing factors in lessening his penalty from the maximum sentence of 60 months.
NEW YORK — William “Bill” Hill, aged 67, a co-creator of Bitcoin tumbler Samourai Wallet, was given a four-year prison sentence on Wednesday for his part in building the privacy tool that prosecutors claim facilitated the laundering of at least $237 million in illicit funds.
District Judge Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), who previously handed down the maximum five-year prison term to Hill’s colleague Keonne Rodriguez, also a Samourai Wallet developer, for the same offense — plotting to run an unauthorized money transmitting venture, which both individuals confessed to in July — indicated that she was “adjusting” Hill’s punishment in light of several extenuating circumstances, including Hill’s recently identified autism and his older age.
“I acknowledge that incarceration will be more challenging for the defendant compared to many others,” Cote stated. “I would have otherwise imposed a 60-month sentence.”
Roger Burlingame of Dechert LLP, Hill’s legal representative, dedicated a significant portion of Wednesday’s hearing to explaining how Hill’s autism served as the reason — or, as Burlingame described it, “the key that solves the puzzle” — behind Hill’s actions.
According to Burlingame, Bitcoin was “irresistible” to a binary thinker like Hill, who was drawn to the “idealism and rigidity” of blockchain technology, the “honorable cause…of resisting an intrusive government, a dystopian vision akin to Orwell’s,” and an inherent community of fellow bitcoin devotees — something that Hill, according to Burlingame, “had never experienced before.”
Hill’s lawyer further argued that his autism clarified why he believed his activities with Samourai Wallet were within the bounds of the law. Burlingame contended that because the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) didn’t mandate non-custodial wallets to register as money transmitting services, Hill behaved as though he was shielded from any legal repercussions, adding that Hill had come to perceive this as a “woefully simplistic perspective…a wishful, autistic interpretation of reality.”
Burlingame requested that Hill be sentenced to the time he had already served, asserting that his three-month period in a Portuguese correctional facility the previous year was sufficient penalty to dissuade him from future illegal behavior.
“Confinement is incredibly difficult for him due to his heightened sensitivity,” Burlingame remarked, noting that the required socialization in prison amounts to “torment” for Hill.
During Burlingame’s presentation, Cote interrupted several times to inquire whether Hill realized that his actions were ethically wrong, not merely unlawful.
“One could argue that no laws were broken — that is simply not accurate,” Cote declared. “I completely refute the notion that the defendant lacks the ability to differentiate between right and wrong, or that his autism prevented him from leading an ethical life.”
When Hill was given the opportunity to speak to the judge, he became visibly emotional as he described the detrimental impact his legal proceedings had had on his wife, Sabrina, and his broader family.
“I convinced myself that my efforts were about [freedom], but in reality, I was justifying my own arrogance,” Hill confessed. “I have gained a hard-won but crucial insight from this ordeal, and I accept complete responsibility for my conduct.”
In conjunction with the 48-month prison sentence, Cote also imposed a three-year period of supervised release on Hill, which he will be permitted to fulfill from Lisbon, where he resides with his wife, along with a fine of $250,000. Cote mentioned that she will recommend that Hill be granted credit for the time he spent incarcerated in Portugal before his extradition to the United States, potentially reducing his remaining sentence by 11 weeks.
Hill is required to turn himself in to commence his sentence by Jan. 2, 2026.
