Overview
- Rodriguez was sentenced on Nov. 6 in Manhattan after a July plea to the unlicensed money‑transmitting conspiracy that led prosecutors to drop money‑laundering counts.
- The court ordered three years of supervised release, a $250,000 fine, wage‑garnishment to collect payments, and forfeiture obligations tied to roughly $237 million.
- Prosecutors pointed to messages describing Samourai as “money laundering for bitcoin,” darknet posts marketing Whirlpool as making funds “untraceable,” and a six‑page escape plan found at Rodriguez’s home.
- Co‑defendant William Lonergan Hill faces sentencing before the same judge on Nov. 19, with prosecutors seeking the same five‑year cap.
- The case is a marquee example of the DOJ’s focus on crypto privacy tools, following the Tornado Cash verdict, and it has intensified debates over non‑custodial software, developer liability and proposed protections in the Clarity Act.