Today, in the Southern District of New York, the first hearing was held at the US Department of Justice. Case against the developers of Samourai Wallet Keon Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill.
I attended the first session of #Samurai Wallet status earlier today on behalf of @Bitcoin Magazine He spoke briefly with one of the defendants, Keon Rodriguez, after the hearing.
Here's a summary of what I learned: pic.twitter.com/QZN4Ape0CZ
– Frank Curva (@frankcurva) May 28, 2024
The two developers were arrested in late April and charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transfer business.
Only Rodriguez and his lawyer, Michael Cross, were present in the courtroom today, as Hill is still in Portugal and has not yet responded to the extradition request from the US government.
The prosecution stated that it was about to engage in discovery (sharing evidence that it planned to use at trial with the defendants) and that it was prepared for trial whether Hill and Rodriguez were present for it or not.
“fundamental discovery”
The prosecution also stated that it had not yet extracted all the data from the electronic devices it confiscated from Rodriguez, but it would make a “substantial discovery” based on the information it had obtained so far.
She shared that she was still waiting for Rodriguez to hand over the 2 terabyte hard drive that the defendant still had in his possession.
No details were provided regarding what data might be on the hard drive.
A letter from two senators
Rodriguez's lawyer stated that he intends to file a motion to dismiss the indictment against his client and samurai associate, citing a letter US Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wisconsin) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) sent it to Attorney General Merrick Garland as the two politicians argued that non-custodial cryptocurrency software cannot be a money transfer service.
“We are writing to express our grave concerns about the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent policy arguments that significantly expand the scope of the federal prohibition on operating unlicensed money transfer businesses,” the letter begins.
“The Department of Justice’s unprecedented interpretation of this law in the context of non-custodial crypto asset software services is contrary to the clear intent of Congress and the official guidance of the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This interpretation threatens to criminalize Americans who provide services,” Senators Lummis and Wyden added. Non-custodial crypto asset software.
The letter also acknowledges that “non-custodial cryptocurrency service providers cannot be classified as money transfer companies because users of these services retain sole possession and control of their cryptocurrency assets.”
Move forward
The judge announced that Rodriguez will remain under house arrest and that the next hearing for the case will be held on September 4, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. EST.
Those wishing to donate to the Samurai Developers Legal Defense Fund may do so via This fundraiser Created by the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI).
