DOJ is pushing for a new trial against Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm

US prosecutors want a new trial against Roman Storm after a jury deadlocked on money laundering and sanctions issues.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked that Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm be retried on charges of money laundering and sanctions violations.

Last year, a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on the two cases after a four-week hearing in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), presided over by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

Storm will be tried again in 2026

The same jury convicted Storm of conspiring to conduct an unlicensed money laundering operation, but reached an impasse on the more serious charges. Now, as Storm revealed in an update on social media, prosecutors asked Judge Failla to schedule a new trial in October 2026 to try to resolve the outstanding points. He questioned the move, saying:

“The government’s response? Try to make writing code a crime again.”

The Tornado Cash case, along with that of Samourai Wallet co-founders Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, has long been a point of contention in the crypto community, with many seeing it as a direct attack on developers building privacy-preserving technology.

Advocates say open source coders should not be held responsible for how others use their technology. But on the other hand, regulators allege that the blending service knowingly participated in large-scale money laundering and sanctions evasion.

In his X-post, Storm pointed out what he sees as contradictions in the government’s approach. He believes that the DOJ’s request was made despite a more favorable policy environment for the crypto industry in the US

The developer specifically mentioned a statement from US President Donald Trump declaring that the “war on crypto is over” and a memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche saying the DOJ is “not a digital asset regulator” and would not target crypto mixers for the actions of their end users.

You might also like:

Storm’s post also referenced the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to lift sanctions on Tornado Cash, as well as a recent report to Congress under the GENIUS Act that recognized legal crypto users can rely on mixers for financial privacy.

40 years in prison

The 36-year-old now faces a prison sentence of up to 40 years if convicted on the two uncontested conspiracy charges, and a sentence of up to five years after his previous conviction.

“The two charges = up to 40 years in prison. For writing open source code. For a protocol I have no control over. For transactions I never came into contact with,” he wrote.

He also believes prosecutors are simply pushing for a different outcome in the case.

The post ended with a call for financial support and a promise to continue fighting for the freedom and rights of other developers. Storm has called on anyone who values ​​financial privacy or believes that writing code is a form of expression to contribute, emphasizing that “now is the time.”