U.S. prosecutors have asked a federal judge to set an October date for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm’s retrial on two unresolved charges after a jury failed to reach unanimous verdicts at the initial hearing, according to a letter filed Monday in the Southern District of New York.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), requested a date now to “avoid further unnecessary delays” even though Storm, currently out on bail, has a pending motion for a judgment of acquittal. Oral arguments on this motion are scheduled for April 9.
Storm is co-founder of Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer designed to hide the origin and destination of blockchain transactions. In August, a jury convicted Storm on one count related to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and failed to agree on verdicts on two other counts, leaving unresolved alleged violations of the Money Laundering Sanctions Act. He is currently on bail pending further proceedings.
Storm criticized the planned retrial in an X-article Tuesday, saying the jury’s split decision reflected uncertainty about the government’s case.
“A jury of 12 Americans heard four weeks of evidence and reached an impasse: no verdict on money laundering, and no verdict on sanctions violations,” Storm wrote. “The government’s response? Try making writing code a crime again.”
Storm also referenced a US Treasury report recognizing that mixing services such as Tornado Cash can serve lawful purposes on public blockchains. The report came after years of opposition to crypto mixers.
Defense attorneys told prosecutors it would be premature to set a trial date before the April motion is resolved.
