{"id":62775,"date":"2025-04-29T10:40:03","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T10:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=62775"},"modified":"2025-04-29T10:40:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T10:40:03","slug":"samourai-wallet-case-put-on-hold-as-prosecutors-weigh-dropping-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/?p=62775","title":{"rendered":"Samourai Wallet Case Put On Hold As Prosecutors Weigh Dropping Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal prosecutors and the defense team for Samourai Wallet co-founders have jointly asked for a delay in court proceedings as both sides weigh the possibility of dismissing the <\/span>case,<\/span> following a shift in the <\/span>US<\/span>\u00a0Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) crypto enforcement policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a <\/span>letter submitted on 28 April 2025 <\/span><\/a>to <\/span>US<\/span>\u00a0District Judge Richard Berman, attorneys for Samourai Wallet CEO Keonne Rodriguez and CTO William Hill requested a 16-day continuance of the pretrial motion deadlines. <\/span><\/p>\n

The request was made in agreement with the prosecution, though the government has not taken a formal stance on the merits of dismissal.<\/span><\/p>\n

EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span>10 Best AI Crypto Coins to Invest in 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Deputy Attorney General Disbands Enforcement Team<\/span><\/h2>\n

The request follows an <\/span>April 7 memo<\/span><\/a> from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, which disbanded the DOJ\u2019s digital asset enforcement team and signaled a retreat from prosecuting crypto-related cases that do not involve investor harm or <\/span>clear<\/span> criminal activity. <\/span><\/p>\n

Blanche\u2019s memo emphasized that the DOJ \u201cis not a digital assets regulator.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the letter, defense attorneys met with prosecutors and their supervisors at the <\/span>U.S.<\/span> Attorney\u2019s Office in Manhattan on April 24 to discuss the potential dismissal. <\/span><\/p>\n

The defendants argued that postponing the filing schedule would help them avoid \u201csignificant expense\u201d if the government ultimately <\/span>agrees<\/span> to drop the case.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rodriguez and Hill were indicted in April 2024 on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Both have pleaded not guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n

One year since the arrest of the Samourai Wallet developers pic.twitter.com\/b6Yt8ZZ5mN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CR1337 (@cryptonator1337) April 24, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n\n

If the court grants the delay, the new deadlines would move motions to May 29, responses to June 26, and replies to July 10. The proposed continuance would not affect the trial date, which <\/span>is <\/span>currently<\/span> scheduled<\/span> for November.<\/span><\/p>\n

The case is part of a broader rollback of crypto prosecutions under the Trump administration. <\/span>Earlier this month,<\/span> SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony cited the same DOJ memo in his motion to dismiss fraud charges.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, advocacy groups like the DeFi Education Fund <\/span>are calling<\/span> on the White House to halt the prosecution of open-source developers, including Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, arguing such actions chill innovation and criminalize software development.<\/span><\/p>\n

EXPLORE:\u00a0<\/span>Best New Cryptocurrencies to Invest in 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Crypto Firms Urge Congress To Challenge DOJ\u2019s Legal Case Against Tornado Cash Developers<\/span><\/h2>\n

A coalition of <\/span>34 crypto firms and advocacy groups<\/span><\/a> is urging Congress to push back against what they call an\u00a0\u201cunprecedented and overly expansive\u201d\u00a0legal interpretation used by the <\/span>US<\/span> Department of Justice (DOJ) in its case against the developers of crypto mixer Tornado Cash.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a\u00a0letter dated March 26, the group\u2014led by the DeFi Education Fund and co-signed by major industry players\u00a0<\/span>including<\/span>\u00a0Coinbase and Kraken\u2014warned lawmakers that the\u00a0DOJ\u2019s\u00a0current stance could criminalize nearly all blockchain software developers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter was sent<\/span>\u00a0to key\u00a0<\/span>committees in both the House and Senate<\/span>, including the Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee.<\/span><\/p>\n

DISCOVER:\u00a0<\/span>Best Meme Coin ICOs to Invest in April 2025<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Key Takeaways<\/h3>\n

Samourai Wallet founders and prosecutors jointly requested a delay as they consider dismissing the case following a DOJ policy shift.<\/span> <\/p>\n

The DOJ disbanded its digital asset enforcement team, signaling a retreat from prosecuting crypto-related cases without <\/span>clear<\/span> criminal activity.<\/span> <\/p>\n

The broader crypto community, including advocacy groups, is pushing <\/span>back<\/span> against aggressive legal actions targeting open-source developers.<\/span> <\/p><\/div>\n

The post Samourai Wallet Case Put On Hold As Prosecutors Weigh Dropping Charges<\/a> appeared first on 99Bitcoins<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal prosecutors and the defense team for Samourai Wallet co-founders have jointly asked for a delay in court proceedings as both sides weigh the possibility of dismissing the case, following a shift in the US\u00a0Department of Justice\u2019s (DOJ) crypto enforcement policy. In a letter submitted on 28 April 2025 to US\u00a0District Judge Richard Berman, attorneys […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62775"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=62775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62775\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=62775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=62775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mycryptomania.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=62775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}