- Prosecutors assert that Storm’s reliance on the Cox Supreme Court ruling is irrelevant to his criminal proceedings.
- The DOJ contends that Storm was aware of and permitted $449 million in stolen funds from the Ronin hack to be laundered through Tornado Cash.
- A retrial for the unresolved money laundering and sanctions evasion charges has been proposed for October 2026.
U.S. federal prosecutors have strongly refuted Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm’s attempt to utilize a recent Supreme Court decision to have his criminal charges dismissed. The Department of Justice argues that the cited ruling has no bearing on his specific case.
In a legal filing submitted on Tuesday, the DOJ responded to Storm’s legal team, who had referenced the Supreme Court’s decision in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment, suggesting it could be beneficial to their client.
DOJ Contests Relevance of Cox Ruling in Storm’s Criminal Case
Storm’s defense attorneys had posited that the Cox ruling, which determined that an internet service provider should not be held liable for users’ illicit actions in a copyright infringement dispute, might apply to Storm’s situation.
Prosecutors strongly disagreed, emphasizing that the Cox case concerned civil contributory liability within copyright law. This legal framework, they contend, is fundamentally different from the criminal charges of money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and conspiracy to evade sanctions that Storm faces.
The government drew a clear distinction between the actions of Cox Communications and Storm’s alleged conduct. While Cox reportedly implemented measures that effectively stopped 98% of identified copyright infringements, prosecutors allege that Storm deliberately put in place ineffective compliance mechanisms.
Prosecutors Allege Storm’s Knowledge of Ronin Hack Funds Laundering
The DOJ’s filing asserts that Storm was informed of the Ronin hack on the same day it was publicly announced. Furthermore, the prosecution claims he anticipated that Tornado Cash would be used to launder these illicit funds even before the process began.
The government highlighted that a total of $449 million in stolen assets were moved through Tornado Cash via 1,751 transactions, all allegedly occurring with Storm’s knowledge. Prosecutors also stated that at least 37% of all funds transacted on the platform were linked to significant criminal events that Storm was reportedly aware of. This figure allegedly increased to over 50% solely from the Ronin hack incident during that period.
“In short, the defendant’s reaction to criminal use of his company was window dressing at best and outright misdirection at worst. It was nothing like Cox’s strong and 98% effective mechanism for dealing with known infringement,” the prosecutors wrote.
Proposed Retrial Date Set for October 2026
This legal response comes as prosecutors are actively seeking a retrial on two charges on which the jury could not reach a verdict. They have proposed October 2026 as the commencement date for this retrial. Storm was convicted in August of last year on money-transmitting charges, but the jury was unable to agree on the money laundering and sanctions evasion counts.
Storm’s legal battle has become a focal point for the cryptocurrency community. Notably, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has expressed support for Storm, describing him as an honorable individual for developing privacy tools that remain operational years after his involvement ceased.
“Good interview from Roman Storm. His trial is coming soon in 10 days. Privacy of messaging without backdoors is now widely accepted, and many in business and government regularly use tools like Signal. Given the extremely regular hacks of centralized databases that we see…”
In parallel, the founders of Samourai Wallet, another privacy-focused service, have already pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. Co-founder Keonne Rodriguez received a five-year sentence, and William Lonergan Hill was sentenced to four years.
The outcome of Storm’s forthcoming retrial is anticipated to establish a significant legal precedent regarding the application of criminal liability to developers of decentralized privacy protocols.
According to the portal: beincrypto.com