NotATether: Create Samourai Wallet article; note arrests, pleas, and sentencing

2026-09-22T17:40:31Z

Create Samourai Wallet article; note arrests, pleas, and sentencing

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{{infobox software
| name = Samourai Wallet
| developer = Keonne Rodriguez, William Lonergan Hill (historical)
| platform = Android (historical)
| website =
}}

'''Samourai Wallet''' was a Bitcoin-focused privacy wallet and associated Whirlpool mixing service. Founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill developed the software. U.S. authorities seized the project's website in April 2024 in connection with the criminal case described below.<ref name="arrest">[https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/04/24/samourai-wallet-founders-arrested-and-charged-with-money-laundering CoinDesk, 24 April 2024: Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested and Charged with Money Laundering]</ref>

== Product ==
Samourai Wallet offered mobile bitcoin wallet features aimed at privacy-conscious users, including coin-control oriented tools and Whirlpool, a collaborative mixing service. Detailed feature lists and claimed volumes beyond court-related reporting are not expanded here.

== Arrests and indictment allegations ==
On 24 April 2024 Rodriguez was arrested in the United States and Hill in Portugal on charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice / Southern District of New York. An indictment alleged money-laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Prosecutors alleged that Samourai Wallet was used to launder more than $100 million in criminal proceeds; those volume figures remain indictment allegations.<ref name="arrest" /> The Iceland-hosted Samourai website was seized, and a seizure warrant targeted the Google Play listing.<ref name="arrest" />

== Guilty pleas ==
On 30 July 2025, before U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in the Southern District of New York, Rodriguez and Hill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The money-laundering conspiracy count was dropped under the plea. They agreed to forfeit almost $238 million combined, with $6.3 million to be paid before a November sentencing date.<ref name="plea">[https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/07/30/samourai-wallet-devs-plead-guilty-to-conspiring-to-run-unlicensed-money-transmitter CoinDesk, 30 July 2025: Samourai Wallet Devs Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Run Unlicensed Money Transmitter]</ref>

== Sentencing ==
On 6 November 2025 Judge Cote sentenced Rodriguez to five years in prison, the statutory maximum for the count of conviction, plus three years of probation upon release and a $250,000 fine. Hill was to be sentenced later that month.<ref name="sent">[https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/11/06/samourai-wallet-developer-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-unlicensed-money-transmitting CoinDesk, 6 November 2025: Samourai Wallet Developer Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison]</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Privacy]]
* [[Wallets]]
* [[Mixing service]]

== External links ==
* [https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/04/24/samourai-wallet-founders-arrested-and-charged-with-money-laundering CoinDesk arrest report]
* [https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/07/30/samourai-wallet-devs-plead-guilty-to-conspiring-to-run-unlicensed-money-transmitter CoinDesk plea report]
* [https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2025/11/06/samourai-wallet-developer-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-unlicensed-money-transmitting CoinDesk Rodriguez sentencing report]

== References ==
<references />

[[Category:Wallets]]
[[Category:Privacy]]
[[Category:Clients]]
[[Category:Defunct products]]

Samourai Wallet - Revision history

NotATether: Create Samourai Wallet article; note arrests, pleas, and sentencing