Jury’s Wild Ride: From 90th Birthday Celebrations to Deadlock on Roman Storm Case 🎂🤔

So, picture this: A 12-person jury, including a grandma who hit the century mark minus ten, spent their week deciding the fate of Roman Storm, the brain behind Tornado Cash. After much deliberation, they managed to convict him on one count of running an unlicensed money transmitting business. But here’s the kicker-they couldn’t agree on anything else! 🤦‍♂️

According to the court documents (yes, those thrilling reads) released by Judge Katherine Failla, the jurors sent out SOS signals asking for more info before admitting they were stuck like glue on two of the charges.

Their requests? Transcripts, clarifications, and a deep dive into the wallets under North Korean sanctions. You know, the usual stuff you’d ask for at a book club meeting. 📚

After wrapping up the closing statements on July 30, the jurors took a whole week to deliberate. They kept asking for more details, which only delayed the inevitable. But hey, who doesn’t love a good cliffhanger? 🎬

Finally, at 10:38 am ET on Wednesday, the jury foreperson wrote, “We’ve tried our best to come to a unanimous decision, but some jurors are as stubborn as mules and we’re deadlocked.” Just a couple of hours later, they announced a verdict on one of the charges. Talk about timing! ⏰

Why Did the Jurors Get Stuck on Money Laundering?

The jury charge required the 12 jurors to agree beyond a reasonable doubt that Storm was part of a “criminal conspiracy” to commit money laundering. The charge noted, “Conspirators don’t usually write down their plans or broadcast them on TikTok.” 📝📱

The detailed instructions and the flood of information requests might explain why the jurors found it so challenging to decide if Storm’s involvement in the crypto mixing service amounted to a conspiracy. And let’s not forget, one of them was celebrating her 90th birthday during all this. Talk about a memorable milestone! 🎉

As of Friday, Storm’s sentencing hearing for the single felony charge hasn’t been scheduled. It’s also unclear if the US government plans to give it another shot on the remaining charges. Stay tuned, folks! 📺

CryptoMoon reached out to Storm’s legal team for comments, but they haven’t gotten back to us yet. Maybe they’re still deliberating too. 😅

2025-08-09 00:34

Why Did the Jurors Get Stuck on Money Laundering?

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