The developers of the Bitcoin Samourai Wallet mixed service declared themselves guilty of a conspiracy charge to operate a business without money that transmits business on Wednesday, taking a guilt agreement that drastically reduced their possible prison time for their role in the creation of a privacy tool that prosecutors were used to wash more than $ 100 million in dirty money.
In consecutive hearings in front of the US district judge, Denise Cote of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) on Wednesday, both Keonne Rodríguez and William “Bill” Lonergan Hill changed their pleas. The couple was initially accused of a conspiracy count to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate a money transmission business without a license, which both declared themselves innocent.
His agreement with the Government reached the most serious money laundering position, which entails a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, in exchange for declaring itself guilty of the minor position that transmits money, which entails a maximum sentence of five years in prison. In addition, both Rodríguez and Hill agreed to lose little $ 238 million combined, with $ 6.3 million to pay before their sentence date in November.
Rodríguez and Hill’s change of guilt occurs when Tornado Roman Storm’s developer, which faces similar charges for creating another privacy -centered cryptography mixing service, is trial in the same court. Storm’s trial concluded on Wednesday, mere hours after Samourai’s wallet developers declared themselves guilty, and the jury is currently deliberating.
The government’s offer of a guilt agreement to Samourai’s wallet developers occurred since Storm’s trial was still ongoing, said a source familiar with the matter to Coindesk.
Until the couple is sentenced at the end of this year, Cote demanded that they remain in the house arrest, and ordered Hill, a Portuguese resident, to return to New York to meet the rest of their house arrest closer to the court, Bitcoin magazine reported.
