William Lonergan Hill sentenced for running a money-transfer business tied to criminal proceeds.
On 19 November, the New York federal court issued its sentence against William Lonergan Hill, co-founder and CTO of Samourai Wallet, sentencing him to four years in prison for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. According to prosecutors, the non-custodial wallet allegedly facilitated the laundering of more than $237 million in criminal proceeds.
Hill’s sentence was handed down at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, roughly two weeks after the ruling against his former colleague Keonne Rodriguez. Rodriguez, who served as chief executive of Samourai Wallet, received the maximum penalty of five years in prison from the same court.
Both defendants initially pleaded not guilty last year, then changed their defence strategy and pleaded guilty this past July.
“The sentences the defendants received send a clear message that laundering known criminal proceeds — regardless of the technology used or whether the proceeds are in the form of fiat or cryptocurrency — will face serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Nicolas Roos in the official statement.
Rodriguez, 37, and Hill, 67, were also sentenced to three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine each. According to prosecutors, both have already paid more than $6.3 million in forfeitures.
Last August, the prosecution argued that Samourai Wallet was an application “designed and operated as a service for transmitting criminal proceeds” and that Hill and Rodriguez were aware it was being used to conceal illicit funds.
