Roman Storm’s protection crew raised the prospect of a mistrial on July 21 after an FBI agent failed to verify that the stolen property from the prosecution’s first witness in his trial had handed by means of Tornado Cash.
Journalist Matthew Russell Lee reported in real-time at present’s session of the trial, highlighting that earlier than the jury might retire within the alternate jury room, Storm’s lawyer mentioned they might confer about transferring for a mistrial.
Journalist David Z. Morris then posted a video explaining that the FBI agent accountable for monitoring the funds from the primary witness, Katie Lin, was unable to comply with the funds to Twister Money.
Funds not discovered
Lin instructed jurors final week she misplaced her life financial savings to a pig-butchering scheme and believed the proceeds moved by means of the crypto mixer Storm co-created.
Protection lawyer Brian Patton argued that Lin’s account could also be inadmissible if prosecutors can’t show Twister Money dealt with her cash.
He argued in entrance of US District Choose Katherine Polk Failla that presenting sympathetic testimony with out a verifiable on-chain hyperlink “prejudices the jury” and advised the deficiency might warrant a mistrial.
Prosecutors said {that a} second tracing knowledgeable will handle the transfers later in the trial. Nonetheless, they didn’t point out whether or not the witness would seem in particular person or submit a written evaluation.
Unbiased analysis challenges authorities tracing
The dispute arose after MetaMask safety lead Taylor Monahan revealed a thread on July 18, through which she shared her review of Lin’s transactions.
Monahan wrote that the $250,000 wired to a pretend buying and selling website referred to as NTU Capital by no means touched Twister Money or Coinbase. As an alternative, the scammer swapped Bitcoin for Ethereum (ETH) by way of an instant-exchange service, then moved the ETH amongst self-controlled wallets.
She posted Dune Analytics queries and federal asset-seizure filings that listing the addresses, contending that an outdoor “crypto restoration” agency misidentified Twister Money in 2022 when advising Lin.
Choose Failla allowed Patton to check with Storm relating to the mistrial, which might go away prosecutors to determine whether or not to retry Storm on sanctions-violation and cash laundering counts stemming from the Treasury’s 2022 designation of Twister Money as a facilitator of illicit fund flows.
For now, proceedings hinge on whether or not the forthcoming knowledgeable can confirm a Twister Money hyperlink that the FBI’s analyst couldn’t set up.
