Samourai Wallet Founders Convicted of Laundering $237M in Bitcoin

U.S. prosecutors seek the maximum possible five-year prison sentences for the Samourai Wallet founders over their role in laundering hundreds of millions via a Bitcoin mixing service.

BTC

Summary

U.S. prosecutors have requested maximum sentencing for Samourai Wallet founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, who were convicted of laundering at least $237 million in illicit funds through a Bitcoin mixing service. Authorities claim the operation, active from 2015 to 2024, attracted criminal clientele and generated 246.3 BTC in fees. Prosecutors allege that the founders knowingly facilitated the transfer of illegal funds by obscuring transaction origins, and they may face up to five years in prison.

Terms & Concepts
  • Bitcoin mixing: A process of obscuring the origin of Bitcoin transactions by pooling and redistributing funds to increase privacy.
  • Bitcoin: A decentralized digital currency enabling peer-to-peer transactions without intermediaries.
  • BTC: The abbreviation for Bitcoin, commonly used to denote amounts of the cryptocurrency.