Keonne Rodriguez, one of the creators of the cryptocurrency mixing protocol Samourai Wallet, is appealing to the cryptocurrency community for donations to cover legal bills and fines related to his money laundering lawsuit.
Samourai Wallet was co-founded by Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill convicted On November 19, he was sentenced to five and four years in prison, respectively, on charges arising from his involvement in the protocol.
Rodriguez he said in a Wednesday post on X that he desperately needed aid after being “financially devastated,” which led to him being $2 million in debt in legal fees and a $250,000 fine imposed by the sentencing judge.
Source: Keonne Rodriguez
“We are out of options. We need to pay off these legal bills and other debts incurred while trying to defend ourselves. We desperately need your help. Now.”
The case against Rodriguez and Hill and Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm has been closely watched by cryptocurrency advocates, many of whom argue they should not be held liable for the actions of third parties using their software. They also say their beliefs risk criminalizing open source privacy tools and limiting privacy rights.
Costs have increased as a result of a long legal battle
Rodriguez and Hill were first accused with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business in April 2024. They initially pleaded not guilty, but agreed to plead guilty in July 2025 to one count of operating an unlawful money transmitting business.
Rodriguez he said in an interview with journalist and Bitcoin educator Natalie Brunell last December that he pleaded guilty after crunching the numbers and concluding that a conviction would mean a much longer prison sentence and millions more in legal fees.
Online legal market Legal estimates A criminal defense attorney can cost an average of $200 to $500 per hour, with fees exceeding $10,000. Rates enhance depending on the type of case, overall complexity and the number of lawyers working on the case.
A presidential pardon is probably out of the question
US President Donald Trump he said last December that he would reconsider Rodriguez’s case and consider the possibility of clemency. There is also a request for clemency that I had attracted As of Thursday, 15,953 signatures had been collected.
Related: US prosecutors are demanding a retrial of Roman Storm’s case after a mixed verdict
Rodriguez, however, said that unlike Trump’s pardons of Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, his prospects are low.
“There was some hope during the Bitcoin 2026 conference, but now it is gone and we have to come to terms with the fact that I am simply a federal prisoner with no money, power or influence and I will serve my full sentence,” he said.
“Maybe it was denial or delusion, but I had hoped that I would do what I always did and get myself out of this hole – but in reality, serving a full sentence is impossible.”
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