Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez under home incarceration after securing $1 million bail Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez under home incarceration after securing $1 million bail
Rodriguez pleaded not guilty at a pre-trial bond hearing.
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Updated: Apr. 30, 2024 at 12:44 am UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and will stay under home incarceration until trial.
Rodriguez’s bail conditions, as outlined in an April 26 docket entry, include a $1 million personal recognizance bond to be secured before May 14.
Two others must co-sign the bond, which will be secured by property in Pennsylvania.
Numerous bail conditions
Rodriguez is subject to home incarceration, plus pretrial supervision and location monitoring technology as directed by pretrial services.
Rodriguez can only travel within the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the Western District of Pennsylvania, and connecting areas.
The release also imposes various other restrictions. Rodriguez cannot perform any crypto transactions without approval. He cannot operate, work for, or perform services related to Samourai Wallet. He cannot open bank accounts or lines of credit without approval. He is barred from possessing firearms, destructive devices, and weapons.
Rodriguez cannot contact his co-defendant, William Lonergan Hill, except in the presence of counsel.
Rodriguez’s speedy trial time is excluded until May 14.
Samourai crackdown
Authorities arrested and charged Rodriguez in the US on April 24. On the same day, US authorities began an extradition process against Hill, who was arrested in Portugal and has yet to appear in court.
Rodriguez and Hill each face one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The defendants each face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison under the charges.
Rodriguez and Hill allegedly handled $2 billion worth of Bitcoin in illegal transactions and facilitated $100 million of money laundering transactions from dark web markets while operating Samourai. They allegedly collected millions of dollars in fees.
Authorities also took down the Samourai Wallet app by seizing its website and Google Play app store listing on the day of the charges.
Author 
Mike Dalton
Before transitioning to crypto writing in 2018, Mike studied library and information sciences. Currently, he resides on Canada's West Coast.
