Feds Seek Extension to Weigh Decision on Samourai Wallet Crypto Mixer Case

U.S. federal prosecutors along with the co-founders of the crypto mixer Samourai Wallet have requested additional time from the court to evaluate whether they might dismiss the case following the rollback of cryptocurrency enforcement by the Justice Department.

Attorneys representing Keonne Rodriguez, who is the CEO of Samourai Wallet, along with William Hill, their Chief Technology Officer, stated in a letter dated April 28 to Judge Richard Berman from the Manhattan federal court that both parties have together asked for "a postponement of the pretrial motions schedule by 16 days," as communicated jointly with the government.

The attorneys for the Samurai executives stated on April 10 that they had sent a letter to Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton requesting the dismissal of the case following an April 7 memo Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche disbanded the Justice Department’s cryptocurrency unit.

"On April 24, 2025, the defense attorney had an in-person meeting with the prosecutors and their superiors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to address this request," stated the legal representatives.

"The Defendants feel that continuing the current schedule for pretrial motions is justified so they can avoid the substantial cost of preparing these motions until the government clarifies its stance," the letter indicated.

The prosecution also concurred with the postponement without offering any opinions on the substantive matters of the case.

Samourai Wallet’s Rodriguez and Hill were charged In April 2024, they were charged with conspiring to launder money and running an unauthorized money transmission service, to which they both entered pleas of not guilty.

Blanche’s memorandum stated, "The Department of Justice does not serve as a regulatory body for digital assets," and it will cease most enforcement actions and inquiries except for those aimed at "prosecuting individuals who defraud digital asset investors, or those using digital assets to commit crimes."

As of now, the filings for the Samourai executives' case have deadlines set for May 13 for motions, June 10 for responses, and June 24 for replies. However, the proposed adjustment shifts these dates to May 29 for motions, June 26 for responses, and July 10 for replies instead.

The extension would not impact the trial date, set for early November.

Reducingcrypto legal disputes extends

This development comes as part of an extensive series of legal maneuvers resulting in prosecutors' cryptocurrency cases being dismissed under the Trump administration’s supportive approach towards the sector.

Related: The SEC has stated that they will not refile the fraud case against Hex's Richard Heart.

On April 9, the CEO of SafeMoon, Braden John Karony, faced charges including wire fraud and money laundering. cited Blanche’s directive in an attempt to have his case thrown out.

On April 28, meanwhile, the DeFi Education Fund was also active. petitioned the White House To dismiss the charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm and sought prompt measures to “halt the unlawful effort by the Department of Justice from the Obama-Biden administration to criminalize the development of open-source software.”

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