Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill plan to change pleas to guilty

The Block

2025-07-30 03:28:15

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Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill changed their entered to change their pleas after pleading not guilty last year to charges related to their mixer service.

In two filings on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Judge Denise Cote said Rodriguez and Hill want to change their pleas. The judge also scheduled hearings to discuss the matter for Wednesday morning.

Prosecutors say Samourai is an unlicensed money-transmitting business and was involved in over "$2 billion in unlawful transactions and facilitated more than $100 million in money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets," including Silk Road. Both Rodriguez and Hill were charged in April 2024.

At the time, Department of Justice authorities said Rodriguez, who served as chief executive officer, and Hill, who served as chief technology officer, designed Samourai to offer two features, including a crypto mixing service called "Whirlpool" to help people engage in criminal conduct. The pair also encouraged users to launder criminal proceeds through the mixer on X, prosecutors alleged.

After being charged, Rodriguez and Hill pleaded not guilty. The trial has not yet started for Rodriguez or Hill. It had been scheduled to begin on Nov. 3, 2025.

The move comes amid Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm's trial, which is also being held at the New York Southern District of New York. His trial started in mid-July and could finish up this week or next week. In 2023, Storm was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations for operating the crypto mixer, Tornado Cash. If convicted on all counts, Storm could face up to 45 years in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.

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