According to a recent court filing, New York prosecutors are considering dropping their case against Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, co-founders of Samourai Wallet. The case has been put on hold for 16 days to allow the government to reassess its position in light of a recent memo from US Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The memo, issued on April 7, announced the disbanding of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and instructed staff to no longer pursue cases against crypto exchanges, mixing services, or offline wallets for the actions of their users or unintentional regulatory violations.
As a result, any ongoing investigations that are inconsistent with this new policy are to be closed, and ongoing cases will be reviewed for consistency. Following the memo, lawyers for Hill and Rodriguez requested that the indictment be dismissed, citing the new policy.
The charges against the co-founders, which include conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. The prosecution alleges that Samourai Wallet facilitated around $2 billion in illicit transactions between 2015 and 2024, with the pair earning a combined $4.5 million in fees.