U.S. Prosecutors Seek 5-Year Prison Terms for Samourai Wallet Founders in $237M Money Laundering Case
Federal prosecutors have demanded five-year prison sentences for Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, founders of privacy-focused cryptocurrency service Samourai Wallet. The defendants pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmission business that allegedly laundered over $237 million from illicit activities including darknet markets and fraud schemes.
Court documents reveal the platform operated for nearly a decade under the guise of financial privacy technology. Prosecutors characterized the service as a sophisticated money laundering operation that processed funds tied to drug trafficking, cybercrime, and other illegal enterprises.