Samourai Wallet Co-Founder Seeks Donations After $2 Million Legal Debt

Overview

• Keonne Rodriguez asked the crypto community for help paying more than $2 million in legal debt and a $250,000 court fine, saying he is financially wiped out.
• Rodriguez wrote on X that he has exhausted options and now expects to complete his sentence, with pardon prospects low despite earlier White House review talk and a petition with 15,953 signatures.
• Rodriguez was sentenced to five years in federal prison in November 2025, and co‑founder William Lonergan Hill received four years, for operating Samourai Wallet’s crypto mixing service that obscures transaction trails.
• Prosecutors charged both men in April 2024, and court records show they shifted from not‑guilty pleas to a July 2025 guilty plea to operating an illegal money transmitter after weighing trial risks and mounting fees.
• Privacy advocates following the case argue developers of open‑source privacy tools should not bear criminal liability for others’ misuse, noting that defense costs often run $200–$500 per hour and can push defendants toward plea deals.