Samourai Wallet Prosecutors Discuss Dropping Charges in Light of DOJ's New Crypto-Asset Enforcement Priorities: Filings
The founders face up to 25 years in prison for alleged money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitter.
Cheyenne Ligon | Edited by Nikhilesh De on April 29, 2025, 4:46 PM
Key points:
- Prosecutors in New York are weighing whether to drop cases against the co-founders of Samourai Wallet after a recent Justice Department memo indicated the agency would change its enforcement priorities for cryptocurrency laws.
- Both sides filed a joint letter with the court asking for a 16-day delay while prosecutors consider their options.
In court documents filed Monday, New York prosecutors appear to be weighing whether to drop the case against Samourai Wallet co-founders Keon Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill.
In a joint filing with District Judge Richard Berman of the Southern District of New York (SDNY), prosecutors and attorneys for Rodriguez and Hill requested a 16-day stay or extension of time “while the government determines its position” in response to the defense's request to dismiss the case in light of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's recent memo to Department of Justice (DOJ) staff.
In an April 7 memo, Blanche said the Justice Department's crypto unit, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), would be disbanded and instructed staff to no longer bring cases against crypto exchanges, mixing services, or offline wallets “for the actions of their end users or unintentional violations of regulations.”
Blanche ordered all ongoing investigations that do not comply with the new policy to be closed and said his department would work with the Justice Department's criminal division to “review ongoing cases for compliance with this policy.”
Read more: US Justice Department closes crypto unit as Trump regulations continue to loosen
Three days after Blanche's memo, Hill and Rodriguez's attorneys sent a letter to the U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York “requesting that the superseding indictment pursuant to the Blanche memo” be dismissed, according to documents filed Monday. The parties met on April 24 to discuss the request.
Rodriguez and Hill were charged last April with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter. The charges carry maximum sentences of 20 years and five years in prison, respectively. Prosecutors allege that Samourai Wallet facilitated about $2 billion in “illegal transactions” between 2015 and 2024, with the pair collecting a total of $4.5 million in fees.
