William Lonergan Hill, co-founder and chief technology officer of Samourai Wallet, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business tied to the bitcoin privacy service. The ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in the Southern District of New York, adds another major chapter to the legal battle over crypto privacy infrastructure.
Hill pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, while a broader money laundering conspiracy charge was dropped as part of the plea deal. Prosecutors argued that Hill and co-founder Keonne Rodriguez marketed Samourai Wallet’s privacy features, especially Whirlpool and Ricochet, in ways that appealed to criminal users. According to the government, the platform processed as much as $237 million in transactions linked to illicit activity.
Earlier, on Nov. 6, Rodriguez received the full statutory maximum sentence of five years. Hill’s 48-month sentence was lower, with the court citing mitigating factors including his age and a recent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The court also ordered forfeiture of proceeds connected to the case.
Sentencing factors and next steps
The defense asked for a time-served outcome, pointing to Hill’s detention in Portugal during extradition proceedings and arguing that his autism contributed to his conduct. Judge Cote ultimately imposed a sentence that fell between the government’s request and the Probation Office’s recommendation of roughly 42 months. Hill has been ordered to self-surrender by Jan. 2, 2026, and will also face three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.
A broader test for privacy software
The case arrives amid an ongoing debate over how much legal responsibility developers of open-source privacy tools should bear. The U.S. Department of Justice has framed the prosecution as a response to significant criminal abuse, while privacy advocates see it as a consequential test of the limits of financial privacy software. With the sentence now set, the dispute over privacy, compliance, and developer liability is likely to intensify further.