Samourai Wallet Co-Founders Seek Dismissal After Justice Department Policy Shift

US federal prosecutors and the co-founders of the crypto mixer Samourai Wallet have requested additional time from a court to consider the potential dismissal of the case. This request comes after the Justice Department adjusted its approach to crypto enforcement.

Lawyers representing Samourai Wallet CEO Keonne Rodriguez and chief technology officer William Hill submitted a letter to Manhattan federal judge Richard Berman on April 28. In the letter, they stated that both the defense and the government had jointly requested a 16-day continuance of the pretrial motions schedule.

The defense team had previously written to Acting Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton on April 10, seeking the dismissal of the case. This request followed an April 7 memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, which effectively disbanded the Justice Department’s crypto team.

According to the lawyers, a meeting was held on April 24, 2025, between the defense counsel and prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to discuss the dismissal request. The defense argued that a continuance was necessary to avoid the significant expense of preparing motions while the government determined its position. Prosecutors agreed to the adjournment without commenting on the merits of the case.

Rodriguez and Hill were initially charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in April 2024. Both have pleaded not guilty to these charges.

Blanche’s memo clarified that the Department of Justice is not a digital assets regulator and would focus its efforts on prosecuting individuals who victimize digital asset investors or use digital assets in furtherance of criminal offenses.

Currently, motions in the Samourai executives' case are due on May 13, with responses due on June 10 and replies on June 24. The proposed continuance would push these dates back to May 29 for motions, June 26 for responses, and July 10 for replies. The trial date, scheduled for early November, remains unaffected by this continuance.

This development is part of a broader trend where prosecutors have seen their crypto cases quashed under the Trump administration's favorable stance toward the industry.

On April 9, SafeMoon CEO Braden John Karony, who is charged with wire fraud and money laundering, cited Blanche’s directive in an attempt to get his case dismissed. Additionally, on April 28, the DeFi Education Fund petitioned the White House to drop charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, requesting immediate action to discontinue the Biden-era Department of Justice’s campaign to criminalize open-source software development.