- Roman Storm was convicted of operating Tornado Cash without a money transfer license.
- Jury deadlocked on money laundering and sanctions charges linked to North Korea.
- Storm’s lawyers plan to challenge the conviction and fight for full vindication.
Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, faced a major legal decision on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court. A jury found him guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. However, the jury could not agree on two more serious charges, money laundering and sanctions evasion.
Storm, 36, was arrested in 2023 and charged with helping criminals hide over $1 billion in crypto assets. Authorities claimed Tornado Cash was used by the Lazarus Group, a North Korean-backed hacker group. The U.S. Treasury blacklisted the group for allegedly funding North Korea’s weapons programs.
Mixed Verdict After Long Deliberation
The trial lasted three weeks. Jurors spent four days deliberating before reaching a partial verdict. They could not agree on whether Storm knowingly helped launder money or violated international sanctions. The remaining charge, unlicensed money transmitting, carries a possible five-year prison sentence. The other charges could have meant 20 years each. Judge Katherine Failla will sentence Storm at a later date.
Prosecutors said Storm ignored warnings about Tornado Cash being used for illegal activity. They argued that he kept the platform running out of greed. Prosecutor Benjamin Gianforti claimed Storm knew about the risks but chose profit over compliance.
In court, Gianforti said, “The real money wasn’t in protecting privacy for regular folks. It was in hiding big-time crypto crimes.” Storm’s lawyers strongly denied this view. In closing arguments, defense attorney David Patton said Storm never meant to help criminals. He told the jury that Storm opposed hackers and scammers using his software. “Roman very much did not want hackers and scammers to use Tornado Cash,” Patton said.
Legal Battle Not Over
Storm’s legal team plans to fight the verdict. His attorney, Brian Klein, said there are serious legal issues with the conviction. Klein believes the case sets a dangerous precedent for crypto developers and privacy tools. “We are grateful the jury did not convict Roman for violating sanctions or laundering money,” Klein said in a statement. He added that they expect Storm to be cleared of the remaining charge as well.
Storm may ask the judge to dismiss the conviction or appeal after sentencing. Prosecutors have not yet said if they will retry the unresolved charges. They tried to have Storm detained immediately after the verdict. Also, they argued he could flee the country, noting his birth in Kazakhstan and alleged advice to others on immigration.
Storm’s legal team pushed back. They reminded the court that he is a U.S. citizen who lives in Seattle. His lawyers said he surrendered his passport and shares custody of his young daughter. He also has extended family in California. Judge Failla did not rule on detention during Wednesday’s hearing. Storm remains out on bail while the legal process continues.
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Tornado Cash and Sanctions
Tornado Cash is a privacy-focused crypto tool known as a mixer. Mixers blend cryptocurrency transactions, making them harder to trace. U.S. officials say this allows criminals to hide stolen funds. In 2022, the Treasury Department sanctioned Tornado Cash under the Biden administration. But in March 2025, the sanctions were lifted after policy reviews by the Trump administration.
Storm pleaded not guilty to all three original charges. He has insisted from the start that his intention was to protect user privacy, not to help criminals. The case has captured the global interest of the tech and legal communities. It points to the challenge of regulating new technologies in traditional legal frameworks. A decision on whether to retry Storm on the two unresolved charges is expected soon.
