Developer of Bitcoin App Samourai Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison

Samourai Wallet developer Keonne Rodriguez was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter.

Alongside the sentence, Rodriguez was fined $250,000, according to courtroom reporter Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press. Rodriguez will have to surrender for his prison sentence on December 19.

The Samourai Wallet app allowed people to hide their Bitcoin transactions by mixing them with those from other users, making it easier to obscure the movements of coins.

U.S. authorities last year shuttered their platform and arrested developers Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill, alleging that criminals used the platform and the defendants had turned a blind eye. Hill is set to be sentenced on November 19.

Editor’s note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated.