Overview
- U.S. District Judge Denise Cote sentenced Keonne Rodriguez to 60 months in prison, imposed a $250,000 fine, and ordered three years of supervised release.
- The court ordered wage garnishment toward the fine, including up to 50% of prison earnings under UNICOR and 25% of gross monthly income after release.
- Prosecutors said Samourai’s tools helped conceal about $237 million in illicit proceeds and cited messages and an alleged six-page escape plan to argue he encouraged criminal use.
- Whirlpool and Ricochet processed more than 80,000 BTC since their launches, generating over $6 million in fees by coordinating batch mixes and multi-hop transactions to hinder tracing.
- Rodriguez and co-defendant William Lonergan Hill pled guilty in July to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, the money-laundering count was dropped, and Hill’s sentencing is now set for November 19.