Samourai Cofounder Seeks Bitcoin Donations From Prison
Keonne Rodriguez, serving a 60-month term at FPC Morgantown, posted a public Bitcoin address seeking funds to cover over $2 million in legal fees and a $250,000 court fine.
Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, posted an appeal from FPC Morgantown on May 6 asking Bitcoin holders to send funds to a public address to cover more than $2 million in legal fees and a $250,000 court fine.
He provided the address bc1qtjjcvn98wh7dfd55m8kxhjcfexanttwt8gtan8 and wrote that private donation options are available through his wife Lauren Rodriguez’s X account. He added that lawyers and the U.S. Department of Justice are pressing for payment.
Rodriguez is five months into a 60-month sentence at the West Virginia camp after surrendering to federal custody in December 2025. He had been released on a $1 million bond prior to sentencing.
Rodriguez and co-founder William Lonergan Hill pleaded guilty in 2025 to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Hill received a four-year sentence. The two forfeited about $6.37 million in earned fees under a broader money judgment. Rodriguez faces the $250,000 court-imposed fine in addition to the legal fee obligation.
Federal prosecutors alleged Samourai Wallet processed more than $237 million in criminal proceeds. Officials executed a seizure warrant that removed Samourai’s mobile application from the Google Play Store in the United States. Prosecutors’ filings state the wallet handled over $2 billion across more than 100,000 users since its 2015 launch.
The case has prompted debate among developers and legal experts about whether creators of non-custodial privacy tools can face criminal liability for users’ transactions. Some developers have continued to circulate Samourai’s original code through forks such as Ashigaru.
Rodriguez wrote that hopes for a presidential pardon, which President Trump had indicated in late 2025 he would consider, have dimmed and described the prospects as “very low.” He also wrote, “I am simply a federal prisoner without money, power, or influence, and I will serve my full sentence.”
Lawyers for Rodriguez and the Justice Department have filed papers and taken steps to collect judgments related to the case. Public appeals for bitcoin from someone serving a federal sentence are uncommon.
