Storm Chasers: DOJ Rains Bitcoin Fog Ruling on Tornado Cash Dev's Acquittal Bid 🌪️

Federal prosecutors told a Manhattan federal judge that a recent appeals court ruling upholding the conviction of Bitcoin Fog operator Roman Sterlingov reinforces their argument that Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm was properly tried in New York on money laundering and unlicensed money transmitting charges. In a Monday letter filed with Judge Katherine Polk Failla in the Southern District of New York, prosecutors cited the D.C. Circuit's Sept. 25 ruling that affirmed Sterlingov's conviction and 150-month sentence, finding venue in Washington, D.C., proper for all four counts.

For the money laundering counts, the Sterlingov opinion relied on evidence that an undercover agent conducted Bitcoin Fog transactions from his D.C. office, depositing about $250 worth of Bitcoin and withdrawing almost all of it the next day. For the unlicensed money transmission counts, the appeals court found sufficient evidence that Bitcoin Fog had "served customers in the District." Prosecutors said the Bitcoin Fog ruling "directly supports" their position in Storm's case, arguing that Tornado Cash activity in Manhattan was sufficient to establish venue in the Southern District of New York.

They pointed to testimony from Shakeeb Ahmed, a Tornado Cash user who said he accessed the service "in [his] apartment in Manhattan." Storm's lawyers had argued that Ahmed's funds sat in the pools too briefly to further any conspiracy. The letter counters that his deposit remained for "a couple days," comparable to the agent's in the Bitcoin Fog case. At the April 2026 hearing, Storm's lawyer Brian Klein argued that Ahmed used Tornado Cash before committing his crime and "didn't actually use Tornado Cash for his hack." On the money transmitting count, the letter says the appeals court found venue proper solely because Bitcoin Fog had "served customers in the District," and that Ahmed's testimony shows Tornado Cash did the same in Manhattan.

Storm, who was convicted in August 2025 of conspiring to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business while the jury deadlocked on money laundering and sanctions conspiracy charges, criticized the filing on X on Monday, writing, "The DOJ is still coming after me with everything it has. They really want to see me convicted." He also cited the Treasury Department's Monday announcement that it would withdraw its proposed crypto-mixer rule, arguing that the government is taking conflicting approaches to crypto privacy tools. A retrial on the money laundering and sanctions conspiracy counts on which the jury deadlocked is scheduled for April 26, 2027, at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse if those charges remain pending, with a pretrial schedule running from expert disclosures on Feb. 5, 2027, to a final conference on April 20, 2027.