Title: Founders of Crypto Mixer Samourai Wallet Charged with Money Laundering of Over $100 Million

In a significant development highlighting the U.S. government's crackdown on illicit activities involving cryptocurrency, federal prosecutors have charged the founders of Samourai Wallet, Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, with conspiracy to commit money laundering. The charges come as the government tightens its grip on crypto mixing tools that are allegedly used by criminals and foreign governments to conceal fund transfers.

According to a press release issued on Wednesday, Rodriguez and Hill developed, marketed, and operated Samourai Wallet's mixing service, which facilitated more than $100 million in money laundering transactions from illegal dark web markets. The indictment also revealed that Samourai Wallet was involved in approximately $2 billion worth of unlawful transactions between 2015 and the present.

Prosecutors allege that Rodriguez, 35, and Hill, 65, collected around $4.5 million in fees for their mixing services. The indictment further stated that different features of the wallet had varying pool fees. As a result, the founders now face charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, which carry maximum sentences of 20 years and five years, respectively.

Rodriguez was arrested on Wednesday morning and is expected to be arraigned in Pennsylvania in the coming days, according to the press release. Hill, the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) of Samourai Wallet, was apprehended in Portugal and is set to be extradited to the United States.

In a significant move, authorities have seized the Samourai Wallet website, which was hosted in Iceland. Additionally, a seizure warrant has been issued for the removal of Samourai's mobile application from the Google Play Store. The application, which has recorded over 100,000 downloads, was allegedly used by numerous individuals involved in illicit activities.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reports that Samourai Wallet has been in development since 2015. Prosecutors allege that Rodriguez and Hill actively encouraged users to engage in criminal activities and facilitated the laundering of proceeds through the mixer. Their actions were highlighted through tweets and private messages, which were cited in the press release.

Furthermore, marketing materials for Samourai Wallet indicated their target demographic as "Restricted Markets," along with online gambling and asset protection. The founders sought investors by promoting the inclusion of "dark/grey market participants" in their user base.

These recent arrests coincide with the DOJ's forthcoming trial against Roman Storm, a developer and co-founder of another crypto mixing service called Tornado Cash. The trial is being conducted by the DOJ's Southern District of New York division. Additionally, the DOJ's Washington, D.C. unit recently won a conviction against Roman Sterlingov, the operator of crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog, on money laundering charges.

As the U.S. government intensifies its efforts to combat illicit activities in the cryptocurrency space, these prosecutions serve as a warning to those involved in money laundering through crypto mixing tools.