She urged the DOJ not to retry Storm on those charges and noted that the “Trump DOJ” can and should choose not to allow the Southern District of New York to pursue this case further.
Following the verdict announcement, Assistant US Attorney Arad moved to remand Storm to custody, arguing there is a presumption of detention after conviction and that Storm poses a flight risk given his background and access to significant crypto funds.
Prosecutors referenced messages about immigration “workarounds” and alleged access to multi-million-dollar wallets, including funds linked to co-defendant Roman Semenov, who remains at large.
Storm’s defense opposed remand, noting he has complied with bond conditions, surrendered his passport, and has a home-secured bond in place. Judge Katherine Polk Failla stated her belief that Storm is not a risk by being considered guilty only on the money transmitting charge. She added:
“He may appeal, he has every incentive to stay and fight. He is not a risk of flight, given the size of the bond. There is a lot of fighting left in this case before sentencing, and I think Mr. Storm will stay for it.”
Journalist Eleanor Terrett reportedly caught Storm leaving the courtroom. He stated:
“It’s a big win. The ‘1960’ charge is bullshit and we’re going to fight it all the way.”
She said he was relieved not to be remanded and noted that his 5-year-old daughter is a key reason he will keep contesting the single count on which he was convicted. Storm told her that he’s heading back to Seattle for now.
Storm was charged in 2023 with conspiracy to launder money, operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and violate US sanctions, tied to his role in building and operating the Ethereum-based mixer Tornado Cash.
Prosecutors say Tornado Cash was used to launder over $1 billion by bad actors, including North Korea-backed Lazarus Group.
