Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York | Department of Justice
Roman Storm, a co-founder of the cryptocurrency mixing service Tornado Cash, has been convicted in federal court for his role in operating an unlicensed money transmitting business that processed over $1 billion in illegal transactions. The verdict was delivered after a four-week jury trial overseen by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated, “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. The speed, efficiency, and functionality of stablecoins and other digital assets offer great promise, but that promise cannot be an excuse for criminality. 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. This Office and our partner agencies are committed to holding accountable those who exploit emerging technologies to commit crime.”
Evidence presented at trial showed that Storm was one of three founders of Tornado Cash, which allowed users to make untraceable transfers of cryptocurrency. Prosecutors demonstrated that Storm and his partners created the platform’s core features, funded its infrastructure, promoted its services, and earned millions from its operation. The platform advertised itself as enabling anonymous financial transactions. Despite knowing that Tornado Cash was being used to transmit large volumes of criminal proceeds—including funds linked to cyberattacks—Storm continued operating the service.
According to court documents and testimony, Storm knowingly facilitated hundreds of millions of dollars in criminal proceeds stemming from high-profile hacks such as the Ronin hack. The FBI attributed this hack to Lazarus Group, a North Korean cybercriminal organization under international sanctions. Even after this attribution became public knowledge, Storm continued processing these funds through Tornado Cash.
Storm is 36 years old and resides in Auburn, Washington. He was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business; this charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Sentencing will be determined by the judge.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thane Rehn, Benjamin A. Gianforti, Ben Arad, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mosley, with support from Paralegal Specialists Olivia Sebade and Dean Iannuzzelli.
