Samourai Wallet Faces 5-Year Term for $237M Laundering

U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have requested the maximum five-year prison term under the Bank Secrecy Act for Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonn Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill. The Bitcoin privacy app is accused of running an unlicensed money-transmitting service that processed at least $237 million in illicit proceeds from drug trafficking, dark web markets, cyberattacks, fraud and child exploitation. Prosecutors allege Whirlpool and Ricochet features were designed to conceal criminal funds and that developers marketed the tool as a “laundry service.” They claim the founders collected about 246.3 BTC in fees and retained user data enabling traceability. The pair pleaded guilty to unlicensed transmission after a plea deal dropped money laundering counts. Defense attorneys argue Samourai Wallet was a non-custodial privacy tool built with legal counsel, citing cooperation, time served and academic support in the cypherpunk tradition. The probation office recommended 42 months, and sentencing hearings are set for November 6–7, 2025. The case underscores rising regulatory scrutiny of crypto privacy services and highlights compliance risks for Bitcoin traders.