**Key Takeaways: The Case Against Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm**
**What is Roman Storm trying to do?**
Roman Storm, the developer behind Tornado Cash, has filed a motion seeking judgment of acquittal following his conviction on charges of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
**How does the government respond to Storm’s defense?**
Prosecutors have firmly rejected Storm’s claim that Tornado Cash was simply “decentralized” code, describing this defense as “decisively disproven at trial.”
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**Prosecutors Challenge Storm’s Attempt to Overturn Conviction**
U.S. prosecutors filed an extensive 113-page brief pushing back against Roman Storm’s efforts to overturn his conviction. They branded his defense arguments as “meritless” and contradicted by overwhelming evidence presented during a four-week trial.
Storm was found guilty of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business that knowingly processed criminal proceeds. During the trial, the jury considered testimony from 21 witnesses and reviewed over 400 government exhibits linking Storm to a sophisticated money laundering operation that handled billions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
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**Government Pushes Back Against the “Just Code” Defense**
The filing, signed by former SEC Chair and current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton, methodically dismantles Storm’s core argument that he merely created open-source code without control over its use by criminals.
Prosecutors revealed that Storm’s own expert witness admitted Tornado Cash consisted of “multiple interlocking parts” beyond just immutable smart contracts. Additionally, private chat messages showed Storm acknowledged the public narrative of decentralization was false and admitted that the team maintained centralized control points.
“The defendant continues to claim that Tornado Cash was nothing more than a decentralized protocol,” the prosecutors wrote. “That claim was decisively disproven at trial.”
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**$12 Million in Hidden Profits**
Evidence presented showed that Storm went to great lengths to conceal profits from operating Tornado Cash. He liquidated over $12 million in TORN governance tokens through a cryptocurrency account registered under a foreign national’s name. He also used pseudonyms to hide financial gains made from the mixing service.
The government argued these hidden profits undermine Storm’s portrayal of Tornado Cash as an altruistic open-source project. “His substantial profits, cashed out under a pseudonym, were powerful evidence explaining his criminal intent,” prosecutors emphasized, noting that criminal transactions accounted for a significant portion of his business.
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**Connection to Ronin Hack and Sanctions Violations**
The government brief detailed how Tornado Cash processed hundreds of millions of dollars stolen in North Korea’s Ronin Bridge hack. It also highlighted transactions that violated U.S. sanctions against the Lazarus Group.
Further, prosecutors alleged that Storm maintained Tornado Cash’s “relayer system,” which facilitated these transactions — even after being warned about sanctioned users.
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**Jury Deadlock on Additional Charges**
While Storm was convicted on the primary charge, the jury deadlocked on two additional counts: money laundering conspiracy and sanctions violations. Although prosecutors contend that the evidence was sufficient to secure conviction on all counts, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on these two charges.
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The case against Roman Storm underscores the legal complexities surrounding decentralized finance protocols and highlights ongoing efforts by authorities to hold developers accountable for illicit activity facilitated by their platforms.
https://bitcoinethereumnews.com/tech/feds-reject-tornado-cash-devs-bid-to-overturn-conviction/