Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer built on the Ethereum blockchain, has its co-founder Roman Storm facing three charges from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), each carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. Additionally, Storm faces a conspiracy charge, which could result in up to five years in prison. His motion to dismiss the case was denied, and he is now set to go to trial.
Tornado Cash Co-Founder to Stand Trial on US DoJ Charges
Roman Storm’s legal team argued that his involvement with Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer, was limited to developing the software, which they claimed was protected under the First Amendment. However, District Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the Southern District of New York (SDNY) rejected Storm’s motion to dismiss the charges. According to a Coindesk report, Judge Failla ruled that this defense was insufficient to dismiss the U.S. Department of Justice’s complaint.
Judge Failla stated that the government’s allegations against Storm were plausible, and the functional capability of code does not qualify as free speech. As a result, Roman Storm is now set to face trial on charges of money laundering and conspiracy, which could lead to significant prison time.
In other news, Binance’s former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), completed his prison sentence and was released on Friday, September 27.
Meanwhile, Ethereum is trading above key support at $2,600, priced at $2,664 at the time of writing.
