Cryptomixer Founders Admit Guilt in Money Laundering Scheme for Cybercriminals
The founders of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, have pleaded guilty to laundering over $200 million for criminals through their cryptocurrency mixer. They admitted to conspiracy for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that handled criminal proceeds and now face a maximum sentence of five years in prison. As part of their plea agreements, they have also agreed to forfeit $237,832,360.55. Arrested in April 2024, they were charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with two counts of conspiracy: operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and money laundering, the latter carrying a maximum sentence of 20 years. On the day of their arrest, Icelandic law enforcement seized Samourai’s domains and servers, while Google removed the Samourai Wallet app from the Play Store following a seizure warrant.
Court documents reveal that Rodriguez and Hill promoted Samourai as a tool for concealing illicit proceeds, openly acknowledging its potential for illegal use. Rodriguez referred to “mixing” as “money laundering for bitcoin” in a WhatsApp exchange, while Hill advertised the service on a dark web forum as a means to make Bitcoin “untraceable.” Between 2015 and February 2024, criminals used Samourai’s Whirlpool Bitcoin mixing service to process over 80,000 Bitcoins, valued at more than $2 billion, from various illicit activities. Additionally, Samourai offered a service called “Ricochet,” which allowed users to send cryptocurrency through unnecessary intermediate transactions to evade law enforcement tracking. The two founders allegedly generated over $6 million in fees from these services, which facilitated the laundering of proceeds from cryptocurrency thefts, drug trafficking, and fraud schemes.
Categories: Cryptocurrency Mixing, Money Laundering, Criminal Activity
Tags: Samourai Wallet, Cryptocurrency Mixer, Money Laundering, Conspiracy, Illicit Funds, Bitcoin Mixing, Dark Web, Ricochet, Whirlpool, Criminal Proceeds