DOJ Fires Back at Roman Storm’s Supreme Court Defense in Tornado Cash Case
U.S. federal prosecutors have firmly rejected Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm’s try to leverage a latest Supreme Court ruling to dismiss his prison prices, calling the cited choice fully irrelevant to his case.
In a letter filed Tuesday, the Department of Justice responded to Storm’s authorized staff, who had pointed to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment as doubtlessly favorable to their shopper.
DOJ Calls Cox Ruling “Inapposite” to Storm’s Criminal Case
Storm’s attorneys argued that the Cox ruling, in which the court docket discovered that an web supplier shouldn’t be held accountable for customers’ illicit conduct in a copyright dispute, might have implications for his or her shopper’s scenario.
Prosecutors disagreed sharply. They harassed that Cox handled civil contributory legal responsibility below copyright legislation. That framework differs essentially from the prison prices Storm faces for money laundering, unlicensed cash transmitting, and sanctions evasion conspiracies.
The authorities drew a stark distinction between Cox’s habits and Storm’s personal conduct. While Cox actively discouraged infringement with a system that eradicated 98% of recognized violations, prosecutors allege Storm intentionally applied ineffective compliance measures.
Prosecutors Allege Storm Knew About $449 Million Ronin Hack Laundering
According to the DOJ submitting, Storm knew concerning the Ronin hack the day it was introduced. He anticipated that the Tornado Cash service would launder the funds even earlier than the laundering started.
The authorities highlighted that $449 million in stolen funds moved by way of Tornado Cash throughout 1,751 transactions. All of this allegedly occurred with Storm’s information.
Prosecutors additional claimed that at least 37% of all funds flowing by way of the platform had been tied to large-scale prison incidents that Storm was particularly conscious of. During the Ronin hack, that determine spiked above 50% from that single prison incident alone.
“In quick, the defendant’s response to prison use of his firm was window dressing at greatest and outright misdirection at worst. It was nothing like Cox’s sturdy and 98% efficient mechanism for coping with identified infringement,” the prosecutors wrote.
Retrial Proposed for October 2026
The submitting comes as prosecutors push for a retrial on two unresolved charges, proposing an October 2026 begin date. Storm was convicted final August of money-transmitting prices.
However, the jury deadlocked on cash laundering and sanctions evasion counts.
Storm’s case continues to divide the crypto neighborhood. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has publicly supported Storm, calling him honorable for constructing privateness instruments that stay useful years after he stopped engaged on them.
Meanwhile, the founders of an identical mixing service, Samourai Wallet, have already pleaded responsible to cash laundering prices.
Co-founder Keonne Rodriguez obtained a five-year sentence, whereas William Lonergan Hill obtained a four-year sentence.
The final result of Storm’s retrial might set a big precedent for the way prison legal responsibility applies to builders of decentralized privateness protocols.
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