by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 22 – In another crypto industry prosecution by DOJ, on April 29 crypto-mixed Samourai Wallet's Keonne Rodriguez was presented and released on bond in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Court, where Inner City Press was the only media present.
Rodriguez, 35, was released on $1 million bond, to be secured by a property at 610 Wood Street, Harmony, PA 16037.
His co-defendant William Hill was arrested in Portugal and would, DOJ said, be extradited.
On July 9, the US opposed Hill's request to be bailed out to Portugal. The requests has two sealed letters of the type usually made public; it also includes a letter on crypto to AG Merrick Garland from Senators Lummis and Wyden that cites the Roman Storm / Tornado Cash case, letter now on Patreon here.
The Defendants accordingly request a hearing - filing on Patreon here
On May 9 the US Attorney's Office responded that no hearing is needed, quoting from messages on Dread, "a dark web message board," that "Wasabi is broken, Samourai Whirlpool is a much better option."
On May 12 the defendants reiterated that the communications by FinCEN should have been disclosed, and cited the Blanche Memo - as well as the cases of Ahuja and Nejad...
On May 30, the Samourai defendants moved to dismiss the indictment - and elsewhere in the day, Roman Storm of Tornado Cash, cited the Rodriguez case to Judge Failla.
On July 3, a request to present oral argument: "Defendants’ would-be amici seek leave to present oral argument at the July 22 hearing. Together, these prominent organizations—DeFi Education Fund, the Blockchain Association, Coin Center, the Bitcoin Policy Institute, and The Digital Chamber—represent the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem."
On July 9, the case was reassigned to Judge Denise L. Cote: "NOTICE OF CASE REASSIGNMENT as to Keonne Rodriguez, William Lonergan Hill, to Judge Denise L. Cote. Judge Richard M. Berman no longer assigned to the case."
On July 22, amid the US v. Storm / Tornado Cash trial (book), Inner City Press went to Judge Cote's courtroom where she told the Samourai defendants to put their filings on the docket; then "Defense counsel for Mr. Hill shall advise the court by July 23, 2025 when the defendant will be moving to the United States to prepare for Trial. The Government shall file a letter by July 23, 2025 regarding its calculation of the speedy trial clock and any time that may have elapsed. Deadline to supersede is September 12, 2025. Any motions in limine shall be due October 1, 2025. Opposition due October 15. Trial date set for November 3, 2025."
Like Do Kwon and other crypto cases, Inner City Press will cover the case.
It is now USA v. Rodriguez, et al., 1:24-cr-82 (Cote)
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