Today, a jury in Manhattan issued a partial verdict in Roman Storm’s case: they convicted him on count 2, conspiracy to violate Section 1960, and did not reach a verdict for counts 1 and 3, conspiracy to launder money and violate sanctions.  We are disappointed that the jury did not recognize that Storm should not be responsible for the actions of third parties he could not control. While it is understandable that the jury could not reach a decision on all the charges — as the government made many mistakes throughout and their case was not compelling — we hoped for a different outcome for Storm.  The government’s case targeting a software developer should have never been brought in the first place and remains fundamentally flawed: Tornado Cash is non-custodial software through which people engage in self-directed, p2p transactions.  Even the government acknowledges that Tornado Cash developers did not and could not exercise control or custody over user assets.  We will continue to support Storm as he appeals the verdict on Section 1960. At the DeFi Education Fund, we will always advocate for DeFi software developers’ fundamental rights, as we fervently believe software developers deserve the freedom to build decentralized financial tools and infrastructure, including privacy-preserving technology.

Roman Storm has been found guilty of count 2, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business. The jury was not unanimous on the other two counts.

Deputy: All rise! Jury entering! [Jurors file in] Judge Failla: From your notes, I understand you have a unanimous verdict to one or more counts. You may return that and continue, or waiting until all are concluded. Or 3, return and say you are deadlocked on rest