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DOJ Opposes Acquittal for Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm After Conviction

Mon Nov 17 2025

Federal prosecutors urge the court to deny acquittal for Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, arguing he actively controlled the platform and enabled illicit activity. Court decision pending.

⚖️ DOJ Pushes Back: Prosecutors Urge Judge NOT to Acquit Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm

Federal prosecutors argue Storm’s role in Tornado Cash operations was active — not passive — and say the evidence supports all charges, including the ones the jury deadlocked on.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have filed a post-trial motion urging the court to deny acquittal for Roman Storm, the Tornado Cash developer convicted earlier this year on a conspiracy charge. This motion responds to Storm’s own request for full acquittal — including on the two charges where the jury deadlocked after a four-week trial.

Storm, a core developer of the crypto mixing platform Tornado Cash, was convicted on the charge of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter. Tornado Cash was previously sanctioned by the U.S. government after being used by North Korean hackers and other criminal actors to launder illicit funds.

🔎 Quick Facts

⚖️ Storm filed a motion requesting full acquittal
🧑‍⚖️ DOJ responded urging the court to deny the motion
💻 Prosecutors say Storm controlled the UI used by 96% of users
🔄 UI was updated ~250 times between 2020–2022
🚫 DOJ claims Storm knew the features would be used by cybercriminals
⏳ Defense has until Wednesday to respond

🏛️ What Storm Was Charged With

Storm’s motion seeks dismissal of all charges — even those that deadlocked:

✔️ Conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter (convicted)
❌ Conspiracy to commit money laundering (jury deadlocked)
❌ Conspiracy to violate sanctions law (jury deadlocked)

Storm’s defense team argues prosecutors did not present adequate evidence to justify conviction on any charge.

⚔️ DOJ Fires Back: “Storm Was in Control.”

In a filing submitted last Wednesday, prosecutors emphasized that Storm was not a passive coder — he was deeply embedded in Tornado Cash operations.

“The defendant’s control was neither passive nor incidental… He and his co-conspirators changed the UI approximately 250 times… controlling the means by which the vast majority of users accessed the Tornado Cash service.”

According to the DOJ:

96% of Tornado Cash users accessed the platform through the UI Storm controlled
Storm actively maintained and updated features used by criminal actors
His role ties him directly to illicit transactions

💥 DOJ Says the Deadlocked Charges Are Also Supported

Prosecutors argue the evidence also supports the two undecided charges:

💸 Conspiracy to commit money laundering
🚫 Conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions

The DOJ claims Storm’s operational involvement is enough to link him directly to laundering activity and sanctions violations carried out through Tornado Cash.

📅 What Happens Next

Storm’s legal team has until **Wednesday** to respond to the DOJ’s arguments. After both filings are submitted, the court will decide whether to:

deny the acquittal motion, upholding the conviction
grant the motion, potentially overturning the conviction

Given the DOJ’s strong stance, the decision may become a landmark moment for **developer liability**, privacy tools, and DeFi regulation.

🧭 Why This Matters

⚖️ Could set a major **legal precedent** for developer responsibility
🔐 Raises questions about privacy tech vs. compliance requirements
🌐 Impacts future cases involving mixers, anonymity tools, and open-source devs

Storm’s case is being closely watched by developers, crypto lawyers, privacy advocates, and regulators — all of whom see this trial as a defining battle for the future of decentralized privacy tools.