Michaela
Attorneys representing Samourai Wallet have accused federal prosecutors of withholding key guidance from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which allegedly advised that the crypto mixing service did not require a money transmission license—a position the lawyers claim was concealed for more than 18 months.
In a letter submitted to a Manhattan federal court on May 5, attorneys for Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill asserted that prosecutors had received guidance from FinCEN months before filing charges, indicating that the Samourai Wallet app did not meet the criteria of a Money Services Business requiring FinCEN registration—but allegedly failed to disclose this information at the time.
Six months after receiving guidance from FinCEN, federal prosecutors moved forward with charges against Rodriguez and Hill, accusing them of operating Samourai Wallet without the necessary registration.
According to the defense’s letter, prosecutors were obligated to disclose their prior communications with FinCEN by May 8, 2024—two weeks after the charges were unsealed. Instead, the letter alleges, the information was withheld for more than a year and only revealed on April 1, 2025.
In February 2024, Rodriguez and Hill were charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors allege their crypto platform used a mixing service to obscure the origins of digital assets by pooling transactions from multiple users.
According to the U.S. government, the service facilitated more than $2 billion in unlawful transactions, including over $100 million linked to darknet marketplaces and online fraud schemes. Both co-founders pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The letter also revealed that Rodriguez and Hill’s legal team disclosed a conversation between prosecutors and key FinCEN officials, including Kevin O’Connor, head of the Virtual Assets and Emerging Technology Section, and Lorena Valente from the Policy Division.
A summary of the call indicated that FinCEN’s stance was that “because Samourai does not take ‘custody’ of the cryptocurrency by possessing the private keys to any addresses where the cryptocurrency is stored, that would strongly suggest that Samourai is NOT acting as an MSB [money services business].”
Samourai’s legal team formally requested a hearing in court to explore the reasons behind the government’s delayed disclosure and to seek a remedy for the issue. Lawyers representing Rodriguez and Hill indicated that, armed with this new information, they would once again push for the dismissal of charges, arguing that their clients were not given fair notice and genuinely believed they were acting within the law.
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Michaela has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.
