Roman Storm’s Lawyers May Push Back His Trial If Hacker Testimony Gets In

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Well, well, well. Roman Storm’s legal team is feeling a little feisty and is considering a last-minute delay of his criminal trial. Why? Because apparently, a judge might let a mysterious hacker testify against him—and they’re not having it.

In a filing that screams “we’re not messing around,” Storm’s lawyers asked the court to exclude the testimony of a “claimed perpetrator of an alleged hack” (got all that?)—someone who allegedly used Tornado Cash, the platform Storm co-founded. Oh, and they missed the deadline to disclose this witness. Surprise, surprise. Classic move, right? 🙄

Storm’s attorneys argued that this unnamed witness would just stir the pot and confuse the jurors, making them think Roman was involved in the hack. Spoiler alert: he wasn’t. They also believe it could get the jury all riled up and direct their anger at Storm—because who doesn’t love a good courtroom drama?

Here’s the kicker:

“[T]his Court should exclude [the witness]. If this Court denies this motion, Mr. Storm reserves the right to request a brief continuance of the trial date.”

Now, here’s where things get interesting. If Storm’s team pulls the “we need more time” card at the last minute, who knows if Judge Katherine Failla will buy it. His trial is set to start on Monday, and the clock is ticking. This has been two years in the making, people! ⏰

Just hours earlier, SDNY US attorney Jay Clayton basically told Storm’s team to “chill out” about the witnesses. Those witnesses? They’re apparently “victims” of crimes linked to Tornado Cash. Ah, the plot thickens… 🍿

And then there’s Storm, channeling his inner drama queen with a tweet on June 13: “SDNY is trying to crush me, blocking every expert witness. If I lose, DeFi dies with me.” Drama much? 👀

Crypto World Continues to Back Storm (Because Who Doesn’t Love a Good Underdog Story?)

Since Storm was indicted in 2023, crypto industry bigwigs have been rallying behind him. Paradigm founder Matt Huang, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, and the Ethereum Foundation (just to name a few) have all thrown serious cash into his legal fund. If this were a reality TV show, we’d be shouting, “Go team Roman!”

Meanwhile, Alexey Pertsev, another Tornado Cash co-founder, was convicted in the Netherlands for money laundering and sentenced to over five years in prison. Ouch. 😬

As of now, Roman Semenov, another co-founder and developer, is still nowhere to be found. Some reports suggest he’s living it up in Russia, avoiding the courts like it’s a game of hide and seek. 🕵️‍♂️

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2025-07-10 23:33