Keonne Rodriguez, one of the developers behind the crypto-mixing protocol Samourai Wallet, is asking the crypto community for financial support to help cover legal expenses and penalties tied to his money laundering case.
Rodriguez and fellow co-founder William Lonergan Hill were sentenced on Nov. 19 to five and four years in prison, respectively, over charges related to their involvement with the protocol.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Rodriguez said he had been “financially wiped out,” revealing that he accumulated roughly $2 million in legal debt along with a $250,000 fine imposed by the judge overseeing the case.
“We are entirely out of options. We need to pay off these legal bills and other debts accrued attempting to defend myself. We desperately need your help. Now.”
The cases against Keonne Rodriguez, William Lonergan Hill, and Roman Storm have drawn significant attention from crypto advocates, many of whom argue that software developers should not be held liable for how third parties use their tools. Supporters also warn that the convictions could set a precedent that criminalizes open-source privacy software and undermines digital privacy rights.
Rodriguez and Hill were initially charged in April 2024 with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Although both first pleaded not guilty, they later agreed in July 2025 to plead guilty to a single charge related to operating an illegal money transmission business.
In an interview with journalist and Bitcoin educator Natalie Brunell last December, Rodriguez said he chose to plead guilty after calculating that a conviction at trial could lead to substantially longer prison sentences and millions of dollars in additional legal costs.
Legal expenses mounted throughout the prolonged court battle. According to online legal marketplace Lawful, criminal defense attorneys typically charge between $200 and $500 per hour on average, while retainer fees can exceed $10,000. Costs often rise further depending on the complexity of the case and the size of the legal team involved.
Rodriguez’s chances of receiving a presidential pardon also appear slim. Donald Trump said last December that he would review the case and consider a pardon, while an online petition supporting clemency had gathered 15,953 signatures as of Thursday.
Still, Rodriguez said his outlook differs sharply from the pardons Trump granted to Changpeng Zhao and Ross Ulbricht.
“There was some hope during the Bitcoin 2026 conference, but that has now come and gone,” Rodriguez said, adding that he has come to accept serving his full sentence as “a federal prisoner without money, power, or influence.”
“Perhaps it was denial or delusion, but I had hoped to do what I have always done and dig myself out of this hole myself – but with the reality of serving a full sentence that is not possible.”
