Storm Convicted on Money Transmission, Two Charges Deadlocked
A jury deadlocked on money laundering and sanctions evasion charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm after a month-long trial in New York, though he was convicted on one count. Federal Judge Katherine Polk Failla is weighing Storm's acquittal motion and considering retrial dates for late 2026.
Key Takeaway
Storm's conviction on money transmission sets a precedent that could criminalize maintaining privacy tools.
A jury convicted Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm on conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business but deadlocked on money laundering and sanctions evasion charges after a month-long trial in New York.
Federal Judge Katherine Polk Failla heard arguments Thursday on Storm's motion for acquittal and proposed potential retrial dates for the end of the year. Storm, a Washington state resident, faces up to 5 years in prison on the money transmission charge and decades more if convicted on the deadlocked counts at retrial.
The case centers on whether maintaining Tornado Cash — a cryptocurrency mixer on Ethereum and other blockchains — constitutes criminal behavior. Cooley Partner Brian Klein, Storm's attorney, argued that maintaining a crypto mixer is legal. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ban Arad countered that maintaining mixers with large sums of clean crypto could facilitate money laundering, prompting Judge Failla to cut him off: "You were doing better before you started talking."
Prosecutors charged Storm after North Korea's Lazarus Group laundered hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen crypto through Tornado Cash during a 2022 hack. Storm's co-founder Alexey Pertsev is appealing a 5-year prison sentence in the Netherlands, while a third co-founder Roman Semenov remains at large.
Judge Failla warned lawyers not to read too much into her detailed questions. "If my mind was made up one way or the other, I wouldn't drag you all in," she said. DeFi Education Fund Director Amanda Tuminelli, who attended the hearing, said the judge's focus on retrial dates suggests the case will continue.
Storm's legal team pointed to a memo from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche meant to curtail prosecution of software developers who build crypto mixers. Judge Failla said she expects to issue a decision on the acquittal motion in several weeks, with the DOJ proposing a retrial date in early to mid-October 2026.
This article was written based on reporting from Dlnews.
