Saturday, September 9, 2023

Tornado Cash Roman Storm Free on $2M Bond Charged With Helping NoKo Hackers Lazarus


by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Sept 6 – Roman Storm is charged using his cryptocurrency mixed Tornado Cash to help launder money for North Korea's hackers in the Lazarus Group.

On September 6, 2023 he was arraigned before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Katherine Polk Failla. Inner City Press was there - thread:

All rise!

Appearances: AUSA Rehn [also on #SBF case] 

For Mr Storm, Brian Klein [who repped Virgil Griffith who got 63 months]

 Judge Failla: Defendant was presented in Washington, but not yet arraigned. Have you seen the indictment?  Klein: Yes. 

Judge: How do you plead? 

Storm: Not guilty. 

AUSA: Defendant with Tornado Cash helped North Korea's hackers Lazarus Group...There will be discovery from GitHub 

Judge: Will you image thr devices? 

AUSA: Some are encrypted. We have material from Dutch authorities, in Russian, from CC-1. Multiple terabytes.   Judge: What about the co-defendant? AUSA: He's a fugitive overseas. Judge: Victims? AUSA: Yes, of the hacks

AUSA: There are some classified materials... Judge: So ex parte CIPA conference? AUSA: Within 30 days. Storm's Klein: We think the US got it wrong. We'll talk about motions later.

Judge: November 30 [at 3:30 pm - Judge Failla will be presiding over a trial, ending at 3]  

AUSA: We have agreed on release on $2 million bond, secured by his residence in Washington [state], with 1 co-signer by Sept 15. We seized his Russian passport... Travel restricted to the Districts of SDNY, EDNY, NJ, Western District of Washington and Central CA

Klein: There may be a legal defense fund in this case... so contact with Marina Evteshina AUSA: No objection 

Address in Auburn WA is stated; Inner City Press voluntarily not reporting it. Adjourned.

The case is US v. Storm, et al., 23-cr-430 (Failla)

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