Judge Should Not Acquit Tornado Cash Dev Roman Storm, Prosecutors Argue

Why It Matters

The fight highlights the U.S. government’s willingness to hold cryptocurrency developers accountable for facilitating illicit finance, setting a precedent that could reshape compliance and risk management across the crypto industry.

Summary

The Department of Justice’s Southern District of New York filed a post‑trial motion opposing Roman Storm’s request for acquittal after his conviction on a conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money‑transmitter. Prosecutors say they have ample evidence that Storm co‑founded Tornado Cash, altered its user interface roughly 250 times between 2020 and 2022, and knowingly enabled money‑laundering and sanctions violations. The filing argues the evidence also supports the deadlocked charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and to violate sanctions, urging the judge to uphold those convictions. Storm’s lawyers have a few days to respond.