A software developer and Samourai Wallet co-founder serving five years after pleading guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
“Code should not be a crime.”— Lauren Rodriguez
Case
U.S. v. Rodriguez
Status
Incarcerated
Sentence
5 years
The case
When privacy software is treated as a money transmitter.
Federal prosecutors charged Rodriguez and Hill over Samourai Wallet’s Bitcoin privacy services. Rodriguez ultimately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business and received the statutory maximum sentence. His supporters argue that applying money-transmission law to non-custodial software threatens financial privacy and software development far beyond this case.
The EotS position
The regulator’s own warning belongs at the center of this record.
Before indictment, FinCEN personnel told prosecutors that Samourai’s lack of custody strongly suggested it was not a money transmitter under the agency’s guidance. According to the defense, that conversation was disclosed only after a specific request nearly twenty months later. A plea does not make that history irrelevant. It is evidence of how regulatory ambiguity and prosecutorial leverage can turn software development into a prison sentence.
Documented record
Rodriguez pleaded guilty in July 2025 and was sentenced in November 2025 to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Government position
Prosecutors said Samourai was designed and promoted to conceal criminal proceeds and that Rodriguez knowingly encouraged illicit use of its services. The government characterized the FinCEN comments as informal and caveated rather than an institutional determination.
Defense and family position
Supporters describe Samourai as neutral, non-custodial privacy software. The defense argued that years of FinCEN guidance and the late-disclosed 2023 call deprived the developers of fair notice that their conduct could be treated as unlicensed money transmission.
Editorial note: This profile is defense-centered advocacy. The plea and sentence are not minimized. Government allegations, the late-disclosure dispute, defense filings, family testimony, and outside analysis are labeled separately.
Case chronology
From open-source wallet to federal prison.
01
Samourai Wallet development begins
Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill began developing a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet with privacy features including Whirlpool and Ricochet.
02
Arrested and Samourai seized
Federal agents arrested Rodriguez in Pennsylvania as prosecutors unsealed money-laundering and unlicensed-money-transmission conspiracy charges. The service’s web infrastructure was seized.
03
Late FinCEN disclosure becomes central
The defense disclosed that prosecutors had been told before indictment that Samourai’s lack of custody strongly suggested it was not a money transmitter under FinCEN guidance. The defense said it learned of that conversation nearly twenty months later and sought a hearing and dismissal.
04
Guilty plea entered
Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The money-laundering count was not part of the plea disposition.
05
Sentenced to five years
Judge Denise L. Cote imposed the statutory maximum five-year prison sentence, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
06
Sentence begins
Rodriguez surrendered to federal custody. His family and supporters continue to seek a presidential pardon and financial support for the families.
07
Pardon campaign continues
The authorized advocacy campaign continues to collect petition signatures, family support, letters, and public attention. Facility information should be checked at billandkeonne.org before mailing.
Watch + listen
The case in their own voices.
LIVE TESTIMONY / EOTS
Code should not be a crime
Lauren Rodriguez · Enemies of the State live event
This profile uses government records, defense filings, policy amici, the authorized advocacy website, and EotS testimony. The late FinCEN disclosure is attributed to the defense record rather than stated as an uncontested agency ruling.
