Roman Storm Trial Faces Possible Delay Over Disputed Witness Testimony
Defense signals continuance request if judge allows last-minute hacker witness
NEW YORK — July 11, 2025: Just days before jury selection is set to begin, the legal team representing Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm has warned that it may seek to delay the start of his criminal trial if a key prosecution witness is allowed to testify.
In a court filing submitted Thursday to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Storm’s attorneys moved to exclude a newly introduced witness, described as the “claimed perpetrator of an alleged hack” who reportedly used Tornado Cash. They argue the testimony would unfairly prejudice the jury and was disclosed after the official deadline.
“Unfairly Prejudicial,” Defense Argues
In their filing, Storm’s lawyers claim the unnamed hacker’s testimony could mislead jurors into thinking Storm was involved in or intended to assist with a hack — a claim they firmly deny.
“The testimony would likely confuse and mislead the jurors… and evoke an angry response,” the attorneys wrote, warning that such emotional bias could spill over to Storm’s case, undermining his right to a fair trial.
Source: PACER — Image of Thursday filing will be inserted here.
They further stated:
“If this Court denies this motion, Mr. Storm reserves the right to request a brief continuance of the trial date.”
Whether Judge Katherine Failla would grant a last-minute delay is unclear. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday, nearly two years after Storm was indicted on charges of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and violating U.S. sanctions.
Prosecution Pushes Back; Trial Tensions Escalate
The dispute over witnesses is just the latest development in a tense legal battle. On Wednesday, interim SDNY U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton defended the inclusion of additional testimony, calling the proposed witnesses “victims” of crimes connected to Tornado Cash. Judge Failla is expected to rule on all motions by Friday.
“SDNY is trying to crush me, blocking every expert witness,” Storm posted on June 13 via X. “If I lose, DeFi dies with me.”
Storm Backed by Crypto Community
Since his 2023 indictment, Storm has received vocal support from the wider crypto community. Many argue that publishing open-source code for a privacy tool should not be treated as a crime.
Key figures such as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, the Ethereum Foundation, and Paradigm’s Matt Huang have contributed financially to Storm’s legal defense. Supporters see the case as a defining moment for the future of decentralized finance (DeFi).
Meanwhile, another Tornado Cash developer, Alexey Pertsev, was convicted in the Netherlands in 2024 and sentenced to over five years for similar money laundering charges.
Storm’s fellow co-founder Roman Semenov remains at large and is believed to be hiding in Russia, evading charges named in the same U.S. indictment.
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