Samourai CEO Keonne Rodriguez and Samourai CTO William Lonergan Hill Pled Guilty to Operating a Money Transmitting Business, Samourai Wallet, That Transmitted Over $200 Million in Criminal Proceeds

U.S. authorities announced that Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill pleaded guilty to conspiring to operate a money transmitting business that knowingly moved criminal proceeds, including funds from dark web markets, cyber intrusions, spear phishing, and DeFi fraud. Samourai’s “Whirlpool” Bitcoin mixer and “Ricochet” multi-hop feature were marketed to conceal illicit transactions, with over 80,000 BTC (~$2B at the time) processed and about $6M in fees collected. Each defendant faces up to five years and agreed to forfeit $237,832,360.55, per the SDNY press release.