Roman Storm | Crypto

Reporting from the New York courtroom suggested that the Tornado Cash developer could wrap up his defense in a few days, but whether he would take the stand was still unclear. Defense attorneys representing Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm will reportedly rest their case sometime next week, sending the matter to the jury. According to reporting from Inner City Press on Friday, Judge Katherine Failla said she expected to hear closing statements from prosecutors and Storm’s legal team on Tuesday or Wednesday. The timeline gives the Tornado Cash co-founder roughly five days to present his defense in court. Whether Storm intends to take the stand in his own defense was unclear as of Friday. Before his trial started, the Tornado Cash co-founder gave an interview in which he said he “may or may not” testify.  Read more

After about two weeks of hearing from US government witnesses, Roman Storm’s legal team called Preston Van Loon to the stand to kick off its defense case. Prosecutors in the criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm rested their case on Thursday, opening the door for defense counsel to call an Ethereum core developer as its first witness.  According to reporting by Inner City Press on Thursday from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ethereum core developer Preston Van Loon testified in Storm’s defense case, which is expected to last about a week. The developer reportedly described Tornado Cash as a “privacy tool for Ethereum” and said he had used the mixing service four times to send a combined 43 Ether (ETH) in 2019 or 2020, citing safety concerns. “If [hackers] know the scope of my assets I can become a target,” said Van Loon, according to reporting from the courtroom. Read more

With the trial of the Tornado Cash co-founder ending its eighth day, a witness testified Roman Storm had control over some of the funds connected to the mixing service. US prosecutors in the criminal case against Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm offered testimony from an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent as they prepare to rest their case on Thursday. According to reporting from Inner City Press on Wednesday, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Stephan George testified he had reviewed transaction records connected to cryptocurrency exchanges Crypto.com and Binance. George reportedly said that Storm “[had] control” over funds after an account connected to Binance sent crypto to Tornado Cash smart contract addresses, based on communications between the co-founders: Storm, Alexey Pertsey and Roman Semenov. Read more

Roman Storm’s defense team raised the prospect of a mistrial on July 21 after an FBI agent failed to confirm that the stolen assets from the prosecution’s first witness in his trial had passed through Tornado Cash.  Journalist Matthew Russell Lee reported in real-time today’s session of the trial, highlighting that before the jury could […] The post Roman Storm’s defense hints at mistrial after agents fail to trace funds stolen from witness to Tornado Cash appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The fourth day of the Tornado Cash developer’s criminal trial in New York kicked off with witnesses from the FBI. US Attorneys in New York’s Southern District continued presenting their case against Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm, expected to last about a month. According to reporting from Inner City Press inside the courtroom on Thursday, Assistant US Attorney Thane Rehn said the prosecution expected to close its case against Storm by the end of next week, leading to the Tornado Cash co-founder’s lawyers calling their own witnesses. Storm said he expected the trial to last “3-4 weeks due to complex legal arguments and unforeseen witnesses and evidence.” Read more

US Attorneys continued hearing from witnesses in their case against the Tornado Cash co-founder and filed a motion to block testimony on crypto-related kidnappings and torture. US attorneys prosecuting Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm are asking a judge to block certain testimony after opening statements on Tuesday suggested that defense lawyers plan to question witnesses on crypto-related cases involving kidnapping and torture.  In a Wednesday filing, interim New York Attorney and former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton asked Judge Katherine Failla “to preclude evidence and arguments based on privacy rights” following opening statements. Specifically, Clayton requested that the judge not allow Storm’s attorneys to elicit testimony about “people being threatened, harmed, and even kidnapped” for their crypto during witness testimony.  Read more

The Tornado Cash co-founder's legal team argued he "had nothing to do" with hackers using the crypto mixing service as his criminal trial kicked off. Jury selection in the criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm wrapped up on Tuesday, and prosecutors and defense attorneys issued their own statements in a case that could have significant repercussions for the crypto and blockchain industry. According to reporting from Inner City Press inside the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, US prosecutors focused much of their opening statement on attempting to link Storm to North Korean hackers using Tornado Cash to launder funds, in violation of US sanctions. The Lazarus Group was allegedly behind a 2022 hack of the Ronin Bridge, which removed about $600 million in crypto. “The defendant was profiting from a giant washing machine for dirty money,” reportedly said Assistant US Attorney Kevin Mosley, adding: “Mr. Storm had choices. Once he learned he was washin...

Roman Storm’s legal team has said prosecutors plan to use Telegram chats allegedly pulled from Alex Pertsev’s phone that lack authorship data and other metadata, raising doubts about accuracy as the Tornado Cash developer stands trial on money-laundering and sanctions charges in Manhattan this week. The post Roman Storm’s Counsel Points To “Serious Errors” In Prosecution’s Case As Trial Kicks Off appeared first on Cryptonews.

Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm took to Twitter with an urgent plea for support, ahead of his high-profile trial date tomorrow. Storm, who has been battling legal charges for nearly two years, is calling on the crypto community to help raise $500,000 in the next few days and $1.5 million in the coming weeks to […] The post Urgent appeal to help defend Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm and the right to financial privacy appeared first on CryptoSlate.

The Tornado Cash co-founder is scheduled to go to trial on Monday, but his defense attorneys are still waiting on rulings for motions over witnesses in the case. Attorneys representing Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm have suggested they may request a brief continuance for his criminal trial if a judge denies a motion to exclude a particular witness. In a Thursday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Storm’s legal team moved to exclude testimony from an unnamed witness who is the “claimed perpetrator of an alleged hack who allegedly used Tornado Cash.” His attorneys argued that prosecutors disclosed the witness after a scheduled deadline, also claiming their testimony could be “highly prejudicial” to Storm. “[The testimony] would be unfairly prejudicial as it would likely confuse and mislead the jurors into believing that Mr. Storm was involved in the underlying purported hack or intended to facilitate it, which is not true,” said the Thursday filing. ...

Judge Failla said mentioning the Van Loon ruling would confuse jurors, outweighing its limited value in Roman Storm’s upcoming trial.

The judge reportedly said she would not be inclined to have attorneys bring up the US Treasury’s 2022 sanctions against Tornado Cash after they were withdrawn in March. The judge overseeing the US criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm said she was “inclined” to disallow any mention of the 2022 sanctions against the cryptocurrency mixing service in court.  According to reporting from Inner City Press on Tuesday, Judge Katherine Failla of the US District Court of the Southern District of New York said she was unlikely to grant a motion prohibiting the mention of North Korea and the hackers in the Lazarus Group as part of prosecutors’ case against Storm. However, the judge reportedly said she was “inclined to keep out the August 2022 sanctions, since they were later withdrawn.” The sanctions in question referred to the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions adding addresses connected to Tornado Cash to its list of Specially Designated Nationals in 2022. Howe...

Ethereum Foundation donates $500,000 and matches up to $750,000 in community funds for Tornado Cash co-founder. The post Ethereum Foundation Stakes $1.25M War Chest to Shield Tornado Cash’s Roman Storm appeared first on Cryptonews.

Roughly two years after the initial indictment, the Tornado Cash developer’s criminal trial is expected to begin on July 14. The Ethereum Foundation said it will be donating $500,000 to the legal defense of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm, who faces charges related to allegations he conspired to run the crypto mixing service as an unlicensed money transmitter. In a Friday X post, the foundation said it would contribute $500,000 to Storm’s defense, as well as match up to an additional $750,000 in donations from the crypto community. The announcement came roughly a month before Storm is expected to stand trial in New York for money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions. Read more

Roman Storm’s legal team has asserted that federal prosecutors possessed exculpatory FinCEN communications since August 2023 that clarify Tornado Cash’s non-custodial design, challenging the government’s portrayal of the mixer as a money transmitter months before the scheduled trial. The post Roman Storm’s Defense Team Accuses U.S. Government Of Withholding Key Exculpatory Evidence appeared first on Cryptonews.

US government charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm were slightly pared back after a memo said the Justice Department would end most crypto cases. US federal prosecutors are pressing ahead with their case against Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm, but will drop a small part of their indictment after the Department of Justice rolled back its crypto enforcement last month. Jay Clayton, the acting US Attorney for Manhattan, told federal court judge Katherine Polk Failla in a May 15 letter that the charges against Storm still stand, bar one part of a conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business charge. “After review of this case, this Office and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General have determined that this prosecution is consistent with the letter and spirit of the April 7, 2025 Memorandum from the Deputy Attorney General,” Clayton wrote. Read more

The US Department of Justice does not intend to drop its federal criminal charges against Tornado Cash developer and co-founder Roman Storm, Decrypt reported on May 15, citing sources within the DOJ. The DOJ’s decision to proceed comes despite an internal memo circulated last month signaling a potential shift in how the agency handles cases […] The post DOJ to press on with criminal charges against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm appeared first on CryptoSlate.