Crypto Founder Roman Storm Convicted on Unlicensed Money Transmission—Jury Deadlocks on Laundering, Acquits on Sanctions

Crypto's compliance reckoning hits another founder—but the feds' case wasn't a clean sweep.

The verdict:
Mixed results for prosecutors as Storm walks on sanctions charges while the jury hung on money laundering. The unlicensed transmission conviction? That one stuck.

Why it matters:
Another warning shot across crypto's bow—regulators are playing for keeps, even when their arguments aren't bulletproof. Meanwhile, TradFi bankers watching the trial probably snorted champagne through their noses—after all, they move dirty money daily with a license.

No prison sentence

Following the verdict announcement, Assistant US Attorney Arad moved to remand Storm to custody, arguing there is a presumption of detention after conviction and that Storm poses a flight risk given his background and access to significant crypto funds. 

Prosecutors referenced messages about immigration “workarounds” and alleged access to multi-million-dollar wallets, including funds linked to co-defendant Roman Semenov, who remains at large.

Storm’s defense opposed remand, noting he has complied with bond conditions, surrendered his passport, and has a home-secured bond in place. Judge Katherine Polk Failla stated her belief that Storm is not a risk by being considered guilty only on the money transmitting charge. She added:

The judge took arguments on the spot after receiving the jury’s note and partial verdict, which came after an Allen charge urging further deliberations earlier in the day. With the jury hung on the laundering count and an acquittal on sanctions, prosecutors will seek to retry the counts.

Journalist Eleanor Terrett reportedly caught Storm leaving the courtroom. He stated:

She said he was relieved not to be remanded and noted that his 5-year-old daughter is a key reason he will keep contesting the single count on which he was convicted. Storm told her that he’s heading back to Seattle for now.

Storm was charged in 2023 with conspiracy to launder money, operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and violate US sanctions, tied to his role in building and operating the Ethereum-based mixer Tornado Cash.

Prosecutors say Tornado Cash was used to launder over $1 billion by bad actors, including North Korea-backed Lazarus Group.