Tornado Cash Co-Founder May Seek Mistrial Over Witness Testimony

Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm’s legal team may seek a mistrial , arguing that a government witness’s testimony has no connection to the crypto mixer case. The potential request was raised before Manhattan federal judge Katherine Polk Failla on Monday, questioning the validity of the testimony provided by government witness Hanfeng Lin, Inner City Press reported . If granted, a mistrial would render the current proceedings invalid, either dismissing the case or requiring a retrial with a new judge and jury. Storm was charged in 2023 with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He faces up to 45 years in prison. His co-founder, Roman Semenov, charged in the same case, remains in Russia and has not appeared in court. Disputed Testimony Over Crypto Scam Lin testified on Tuesday that she lost $190,000 in a crypto romance scam that began on WhatsApp in 2022. She described how a scammer convinced her to purchase Bitcoin and send it to a fraudulent trading platform that falsely displayed high returns, prompting her to send more funds. Eventually, the scammer disappeared with the funds. Lin said that Payback, a crypto recovery service she hired, informed her that some of her stolen Bitcoin had passed through Tornado Cash. However, Storm’s lawyer, David Patton, stated that their research over the weekend could not find any evidence linking Lin’s funds to Tornado Cash, indicating the defence would consider moving for a mistrial due to this testimony. Crypto Sleuths Challenge Connection to Tornado Cash FBI Special Agent Joseph DeCapua, a government crypto tracing expert, testified regarding the general flow of crypto from hacks into Tornado Cash but confirmed under cross-examination that he had not reviewed Lin’s transactions specifically. The prosecution indicated it would bring in IRS analyst Stephan George to prove Lin’s funds touched Tornado Cash. Meanwhile, independent blockchain researchers have cast doubt on Lin’s claims. MetaMask security researcher Taylor Monahan posted on X that her analysis showed the scammers who stole Lin’s funds did not use Tornado Cash. She explained that the scammers converted Lin’s Bitcoin to Ether, and the transactions were mistakenly flagged by Payback due to bundling errors onchain. Prominent blockchain investigator ZachXBT supported Monahan’s findings, criticising Payback’s tracing work, noting that the firm had followed incorrect transaction paths, leading to an inaccurate claim that Lin’s funds interacted with Tornado Cash. The post Tornado Cash Co-Founder May Seek Mistrial Over Witness Testimony appeared first on TheCoinrise.com .

Source: The Coin Rise