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Julia Smith
Author
Julia Smith
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Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez received the maximum sentence of 5 years in prison for his role in the digital asset scheme on Thursday.
Keonne Rodriguez Receives Five-Year Sentence
According to Inner City Press reporter Matthew Russell Lee, Southern District of New York Judge Denise Cote slapped Rodriguez with 60 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Per Inner City Press, the Bitcoin wallet developer has also been ordered to pay $250,000, equivalent to 20% of his gross monthly income.
Rodriguez will be allowed to stay out on bail until his prison surrender date on December 19.
“I am sorry and will never break the law again,” the media outlet quotes Rodriguez as saying.
Samourai Wallet Developers Face The Music
News of Rodriguez’s sentencing comes just months after he and fellow Samourai Wallet developer William Lonergan Hill pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to operate a money transmitting business.
Federal prosecutors alleged that the crypto app developers effectively transmitted crime proceeds from phishing schemes and dark web markets in order to defraud several DeFi protocols, per an August 2025 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In total, Hill and Lonergan pled guilty to launching the Bitcoin wallet, which the U.S. government says washed more than $200 million in illicit transactions.
The Bitcoin wallet developers ultimately agreed to forfeit over a whopping $237 million as part of their guilty plea.
“Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill’s guilty pleas prove their cryptocurrency mixing service–Samourai Wallet–was designed to conceal criminal financial transactions and launder millions of dollars of dirty money,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia.
“The FBI is committed to bringing to justice anyone who uses technological innovation to facilitate illicit activity,” he added.
