SDNY U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton Issues Statement On Roman Storm Conviction

Former United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair and acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, issued a statement following the conviction of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm on Tuesday.

In the August 6 statement, Clayton vowed that SDNY is “committed to holding accountable” people who “exploit emerging technologies to commit crime.”

Founder of Tornado Cash convicted. “The speed, efficiency, and functionality of stablecoins and other digital assets offer great promise, but that promise cannot be an excuse for criminality,” said USA Jay Clayton. https://t.co/NbA3B7SVDI

“Roman Storm and Tornado Cash provided a service for North Korean hackers and other criminals to move and hide more than $1 billion of dirty money,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.

“The speed, efficiency, and functionality of stablecoins and other digital assets offer great promise, but that promise cannot be an excuse for criminality,” he added. “Criminals who use new technology to commit age-old crimes, including hiding dirty money, undermine the public trust, and unfairly cast a shadow on the many innovators who operate lawfully.”

Clayton’s statement comes shortly after Storm was convicted on one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

However, the jury was unable to reach a consensus on the charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering and sanctions violations, resulting in a partial mistrial.

Storm is currently facing five years in federal prison for the money transmitting charge, though his sentencing date has yet to be set.

Storm and his fellow Tornado Cash co-founder, Roman Semenov, were indicted in August 2023 on criminal charges tied to the crypto mixer, sparking debate over whether the technology was simply a privacy tool or something more nefarious.

Storm rallied support from crypto privacy advocates in the lead-up to his trial, calling his legal battle one of “fairness, open-source, and freedom.”

According to the Free Roman Storm website, contributions to Storm’s defense have exceeded $4.7 million, nearly reaching his $5 million goal.

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