William Lonergen Hill, the co-founder of Samourai Wallet, a privacy-focused Bitcoin crypto wallet, was sentenced to four years in prison by a New York Judge yesterday (November 19). This is a second conviction in a case involving decentralized software development and privacy, following the public case of the Tornado Cash founder, Roman Storm.
With the Samourai Wallet domain seized by US authorities, traders are seeking the best crypto wallet not entangled in legal troubles, and Samourai users are reportedly flocking to Best Wallet.
The DOJ’s money-laundering conspiracy charge against Samourai devs was DOA.
Their Motion to Dismiss cited caselaw that obliterates it.
No wonder the judge wouldn't let them argue it.Thread destroys the “they knew criminals would use it” lie #FreeSamourai 🔥🧵 1/10 pic.twitter.com/XnlUHn03i6
— lauren emily (@leamuirleyn) November 19, 2025
Hill Sentenced Alongside Co-Defendant by New York Judge for Role in Developing the Samourai Crypto Wallet
Judge Denise L. Cote sentenced the 67-year-old developer to three years of supervised release and imposed a $250,000 fine, according to a statement from the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The sentence was handed down two weeks after Samurai Wallet’s co-founder, Keonne Rodriguez, received a five-year prison sentence and a similar fine to Hill.
Rodriguez and Hill both pleaded guilty in July 2025 to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, after prosecutors agreed to drop more serious money laundering charges.
“The sentences the defendants received send a clear message that laundering known criminal proceeds, regardless of the technology used or whether the proceeds are in the form of fiat or cryptocurrency, will face serious consequences,” US Attorney Nicolas Roos stated in a Department of Justice press release.
Authorities also stated that Samourai Wallet users utilized its “Whirlpool” mixing service and “Ricochet” hop-adding tool to obscure Bitcoin transactions, moving over 80,000 BTC worth more than $ 2 billion and generating approximately $6 million in fees.
Prosecutors presented evidence that Hill promoted Samourai on the darknet forum Dread as a way to “clean dirty BTC.” At the same time, Rodriguez encouraged Twitter hackers in 2020 to use Whirlpool and described mixing in WhatsApp as “money laundering for Bitcoin.”
DISCOVER: The 12+ Hottest Crypto Presales to Buy Right Now
William Hill Legal Defense Gets Reduced Prison Sentence With Autism Claims
We're going for 100,000 signatures on this petition and need your help getting there. Please sign & share: https://t.co/5Kr7pxUehg
The Samourai Wallet devs have both been sentenced to prison for the way other people used the software, this doesn't happen in any other industry! pic.twitter.com/67QL36TmsW
— burn the bridge (@econoalchemist) November 19, 2025
Hill’s defense attorney argued his client’s recent autism diagnosis impaired his judgment, giving him a “magical thinking, autistic view” that non-custodial tools insulated him from legal liability, according to a report from The Rage.
While Judge Cote acknowledged the diagnosis would make prison “more difficult” for Hill, she rejected claims that minimized the crime, stating “people should be deterred” from such actions.
She then reduced his sentence from the prosecution’s requested 60 months to 48 months. Hill will start his sentence on January 2 2026, while Rodriguez must surrender to law enforcement custody on December 19.
The Samourai case against Hill and Rodriguez has led to many comparisons to that of Roman Storm, one of the Tornado Cash developers, who was found guilty of “Conspiracy to Operate an Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business”, a conviction many believe is harsh and just another case of developers being criminalized for how others use their software.
A petition in support of William Hill is live, and many notable crypto figures have spoken out. Kyle Torpey, a Bitcoin analyst, commented that Hill seemingly didn’t have the right connections to avoid a conviction.
Torpey said, “The perceived corruption associated with the CZ pardon will look even worse if the Samourai Wallet devs aren’t pardoned for similar charges. How much of World Liberty Financial’s USD1 stablecoin does one need to hold to receive a pardon?”
Users of Samourai have begun turning to Best Wallet, a self-custodial crypto wallet with multiple industry-leading audits, and with the bonus of not being under the scrutiny of US law enforcement.
BONUS: Best Wallet Has Raised Nearly $18M in ICO Funding With Just Eight Days Remaining
With an influx of traders eager to find the best crypto wallet following the closure and conviction of Samourai and its founders, Best Wallet (BEST) is quickly becoming the go-to destination.
Best Wallet is currently leading the next-gen crypto wallet category, offering features that far surpass those of older-generation wallets.
For example, the new project screener in Best Wallet, called Upcoming Tokens, is a powerful tool for filtering promising projects from the tens of thousands that are not.
A strong example of its success is Pepe Unchained (PEPU), which sold for $0.008 during the presale and, at one point, surged to $0.068, a huge gain of over 750% for those who participated.
In addition to the Upcoming Tokens feature, Best Wallet offers one of the best value propositions for a crypto wallet, thanks to its integration with over 200 decentralized protocols and 20 cross-chain bridges.
Head to the Best Wallet website to secure BEST at its presale prices. If you don’t have Best Wallet installed, connect your wallet and purchase BEST tokens through the integrated widget.
With the Best Wallet app, you can buy BEST using a bank card or other cryptocurrencies. Before exchanging them for BEST, swap those cryptocurrencies for ETH or USDT.
Additionally, you can import your existing wallet into Best Wallet, enabling you to manage all your assets in a single convenient app.
Join the project’s community on X, Telegram, and Discord.
EXPLORE: Top Solana Meme Coins to Buy in June 2026
Join The 99Bitcoins News Discord Here For The Latest Market Updates
Why you can trust 99Bitcoins
Established in 2013, 99Bitcoin’s team members have been crypto experts since Bitcoin’s Early days.
Weekly Research
100k+Monthly readers
Expert contributors
2000+Crypto Projects Reviewed
