A New York judge has sentenced William Lonergan Hill, the Chief Technology Officer of Samourai Wallet, to four years in prison for his role in operating an unlicensed money transmitter. This ruling comes shortly after his co-founder, Keonne Rodriguez, received a five-year sentence earlier this month. Both developers have been implicated in facilitating the movement of over $2 billion in Bitcoin through the wallet”s mixing services from 2017 to 2024.
Hill”s sentence includes three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to operate without the necessary licenses. Prosecutors highlighted that the duo generated approximately $6 million in fees while promoting Samourai Wallet as a tool for criminals on darknet forums. They encouraged the use of their services for laundering stolen funds, drawing the ire of law enforcement.
During the court proceedings, the U.S. Attorney”s Office for the Southern District of New York underscored the significance of the case, asserting that “the sentences the defendants received send a clear message that laundering known criminal proceeds—regardless of the technology used or whether the proceeds are in the form of fiat or cryptocurrency—will face serious consequences,” according to U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos.
Evidence presented by prosecutors revealed that users of Samourai Wallet exploited its “Whirlpool” mixing service to obscure Bitcoin transactions, moving over 80,000 BTC valued at more than $2 billion. Hill reportedly promoted the wallet on darknet platforms to facilitate the “cleaning” of illicit Bitcoin, while Rodriguez previously encouraged hackers on Twitter to utilize their services.
In his defense, Hill”s attorney argued that his client”s recent autism diagnosis impaired his judgment, suggesting that he held a misguided belief that non-custodial tools would shield him from legal repercussions. However, Judge Denise L. Cote refuted this defense, emphasizing the need for deterrence against such actions, although she did reduce his sentence from the prosecution”s proposed 60 months to 48 months.
Hill is set to begin his sentence on January 2 of the following year, while Rodriguez is scheduled to surrender to law enforcement on December 19. The implications of this case extend beyond individual sentences; privacy advocates have raised concerns that the convictions could stifle software development and innovation within the cryptocurrency sector.
Kadan Stadelmann, Chief Technology Officer at Komodo Platform, remarked that the ruling indicates a troubling double standard in financial enforcement, asserting that targeting privacy tools creates a “two-tier justice system.” He described the situation as a “chilling moment” for developers, urging the industry to advocate for presidential pardons while continuing to create decentralized tools that resist governmental overreach.
Rodriguez has initiated a petition calling for a pardon from President Donald Trump, asserting that developers should not be held accountable for the misuse of their software by malicious actors.
