2025-11-21 12:49 |
Samourai Wallet co-founder William Lonergan Hill has been sentenced to a four-year prison term for his role in operating a crypto mixing service that prosecutors say was used to wash millions in illicit funds.
According to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Hill has been given four years in federal prison, along with three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
Hill’s sentencing, presided over by Judge Denise L. Cote, comes roughly two weeks after fellow co-founder and former chief executive Keonne Rodriguez received a five-year sentence and an identical fine.
“These sentences reflect the harmful impact that money laundering services have on victims by making it virtually impossible for victims to recover their stolen funds. Our office will continue to work tirelessly to hold accountable those who profit by helping criminals hide their criminal proceeds,” United States Attorney Nicolas Roos said in an accompanying statement.
Samourai Wallet devs accused of washing illicit fundsThe recent sentencing effectively concludes the case that began last year when enforcement agencies shut down the Samourai service and arrested its two founders.
Authorities shut down Samourai Wallet in April 2024 on the grounds that the privacy tools embedded in the app were being used to facilitate unlicensed money transmission and obscure criminal proceeds.
Hill and Rodriguez were subsequently arrested in separate operations, with Rodriguez taken into custody in the United States and Hill arrested in Portugal before being extradited.
Authorities said that during its operational years, the duo promoted Samourai and related services as a means to clean dirty BTC and make transactions untraceable, and they knowingly encouraged criminals to use the platform.
Throughout its operation, Hill and Rodriguez reportedly amassed more than $6.3 million in fees by running mixing services that moved over 80,000 BTC through Whirlpool and Ricochet.
Hill was also accused of personally promoting Samourai on dark web forums such as Dread, where he pitched its mixing tools as a way to hide the origins of Bitcoin.
Both defendants pleaded guilty in July 2025 to charges of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business involving funds they knew were tied to criminal activity.
Hill’s autism defense helped reduce the sentenceDuring the trial, Hill’s attorney argued that his recent autism diagnosis impaired his judgment and led to what the defense described as a magical thinking, autistic view that non-custodial software would protect him from legal exposure.
Judge Denise Cote acknowledged the diagnosis but rejected attempts to minimise the crime and then reduced Hill’s sentence from the 60 months sought by prosecutors to 48 months.
Hill will begin his prison term on January 2 next year, while Rodriguez has been ordered to surrender to federal custody on December 19.
In the meantime, Rodriguez has launched a petition seeking a full presidential pardon as he believes “developers should not be liable for the actions of bad actors using their software.”
Keonne Rodriguez@keonne·FollowIt would mean a lot if you would sign this petition calling on @realDonaldTrump to pardon me and Bill In 30 days we will report to prison. Unless the President steps in. Developers shouldn’t be liable for the actions of bad actors using their software #freesamourai
4:45 AM · Nov 20, 2025560ReplyCopy linkRead 28 repliesCritics of the case and other crypto proponents have argued that the sentencing could deter privacy software development and set a dangerous precedent for coders working on non-custodial tools.
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