Crypto Waves Rising: Lawyer Storm Strikes Back

1. Lawyer Storm Demands Justice Mid-Trial

At the federal court in New York on July 21, the legal team for Roman Storm – co-founder of Tornado Cash – stated that they may file a motion for a mistrial, arguing that much of the witness testimony failed to prove Tornado Cash’s involvement in the alleged money laundering activities.

"Storm Strikes Back: Is the Evidence in the Tornado Case Flawed?"

2. A Witness... But No Evidence?

A witness named Hanfeng Lin testified that she was scammed in a "pig butchering" scheme and that the company “Payback” reported part of the stolen funds went through Tornado Cash. However, Storm’s legal team refuted this: “We could not find any transactions indicating that Ms. Lin’s funds went to Tornado Cash.”

3. Blockchain Experts Speak: No Supporting Data

Taylor Monahan, a security researcher at MetaMask, analyzed on-chain data and confirmed that there were no transactions linking Lin’s scam to Tornado Cash. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT echoed this conclusion, casting further doubt on the prosecution’s claims.

4. Payback Suspected To Be A Scam

“Payback” – the crypto recovery firm mentioned in the testimony – had its website shut down by the FBI last year due to its involvement in fraudulent activity. This further undermines the credibility of testimony based on their reports.

5. Judge Reacts Strongly

Judge Katherine Polk Failla expressed clear frustration: “I have never seen this level of miscommunication in a criminal case.” The prosecution promised to present testimony from an IRS expert regarding the flow of funds linked to Tornado Cash, but has yet to provide concrete evidence.

6. Why This Case Matters To The Crypto Industry

Roman Storm is being prosecuted for:

•  - Operating an unlicensed money transmitting business

•  - Violating U.S. sanctions

•  - Conspiracy to commit money laundering

If convicted, he could face up to 45 years in prison. However, the crypto community sees this as a “symbolic legal battle” over privacy rights, encryption freedom, and the legal limits of developer liability for open-source software.

7. Conclusion

•  - Filing for a mistrial could delay proceedings, but if successful, it would be a major win for the open-source developer community.

•  - The public and global blockchain community are closely watching, as the outcome of this case may have profound implications for the future of decentralized technology and financial privacy.