Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, the founders of crypto mixer Samourai Wallet, have been charged by prosecutors representing the U.S government with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In its bid to stem the use of crypto mixing tools for illicit acts and hiding of funds by foreign governments, the U.S. accused the pair of developing, marketing and operating the mixer to facilitate “more than $100 million in money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets.”
Federal prosecutors allege that Samourai overall facilitated around $2 billion in “unlawful transactions” between 2015 and to date.
Rodriguez, 35, and Hill, 65, collected approximately $4.5 million in fees for their mixing services, according to prosecutors.
The Samourai Wallet website, which was hosted in Iceland, has also been seized, and a seizure warrant issued for Samourai’s mobile application to the Google Play Store.
The duo are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years and five years, respectively.
