The first hearing was held today by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Southern District of New York. Lawsuit against Samourai Wallet developers Keon Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill.
I attended the first hearing. #Samurai Today, on behalf of Wallet Case Bitcoin Magazine After the hearing, I spoke briefly with one of the defendants, Keon Rodriguez.
To summarise what I learned: pic.twitter.com/QZN4Ape0CZ
— Frank Corva (@frankcorva) May 28, 2024
The two developers Arrested in late April He was charged with money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
However, because Hill remains in Portugal and has not yet responded to an extradition request from the US government, only Rodrigues and his lawyer Michael Krause were in court today.
Prosecutors said they are nearly ready to begin discovery — sharing evidence with the defense that they plan to use at trial — and are prepared for trial with or without both Hill and Rodriguez in attendance.
“A substantial discovery”
Prosecutors also said they do not yet have all the data from the electronic devices seized from Rodriguez, but that they will conduct “substantial discovery” based on the information they have obtained so far.
The company also revealed that it is still waiting for Rodriguez to hand over a two-terabyte hard drive that is still in the defendants’ possession.
No details were provided about what data was on the hard drive.
Letters from two senators
Rodriguez’s lawyers said they plan to file a motion to dismiss the charges against their client and his Samurai partners. letter The letter was sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland by Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), in which the two politicians argued that non-custodial encryption software cannot be a money transmission service.
“We are writing to express serious concerns about recent policy discussions by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) that would significantly expand the scope of the federal prohibition against operating unlicensed money transmitting businesses,” the letter begins.
“The Department of Justice’s unprecedented interpretation of the law regarding non-custodial crypto asset software services is at odds with Congress’ clear intent and authoritative guidance from the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),” Senators Lummis and Wyden added. “This interpretation threatens to criminalize Americans who offer non-custodial crypto asset software services.”
The letter also acknowledges that “non-custodial crypto asset service providers cannot be classified as money transmitters because users of their services solely own and control the crypto assets.”
Advance
The judge announced that Rodriguez will remain under house arrest and that the next hearing in the case will be held on September 4, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. ET.
If you would like to donate to the Samurai Developers’ Legal Defense Fund, This fundraiser It was founded by the Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI).
