Samourai Wallet’s Co-Founder Appeals for Bitcoin Donations From Federal Prison

Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez published a public appeal from FPC Morgantown federal prison, asking Bitcoin (BTC) holders to donate to a wallet address tied to his family’s mounting legal debt.

Rodriguez wrote on X (Twitter) that he and his wife Lauren owe more than $2 million in legal fees. They also face a $250,000 court-imposed fine after his guilty plea to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

Pardon Prospects Have Faded

In his May 6 post, Rodriguez said he is five months into a 60-month sentence at the West Virginia camp. He surrendered to federal custody in December 2025.

He had previously been released on a $1 million bond before sentencing.

Hope for a presidential pardon stirred briefly during the Bitcoin 2026 conference but has since dimmed. President Trump had said in late 2025 he would consider a pardon.

Rodriguez now calls those prospects “very low.”

“I am simply a federal prisoner without money, power, or influence, and I will serve my full sentence,” he lamented.

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$2 Million in Debt and a Direct Bitcoin Address

The appeal directs donations to the address bc1qtjjcvn98wh7dfd55m8kxhjcfexanttwt8gtan8, with private alternatives available through his wife’s X (Twitter) account.

Rodriguez said lawyers and the U.S. Department of Justice are pressing for payment.

Federal prosecutors had alleged Samourai processed over $237 million in criminal proceeds, according to the original arrest announcement.

“A seizure warrant for Samourai’s mobile application was served on the Google Play Store. As a result, the application will no longer be available to be downloaded from the Google Play Store in the United States,” the officials wrote in their statement.

The wallet handled more than $2 billion across over 100,000 users since 2015. Rodriguez and co-founder William Lonergan Hill pleaded guilty in 2025 to conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Hill received a four-year sentence.

The two also forfeited approximately $6.37 million in earned fees as part of a larger money judgment.

The case continues to anchor debate over whether developers of non-custodial privacy software can face criminal liability for user activity.

The original code still circulates through the Ashigaru fork.

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The post Samourai Wallet’s Co-Founder Appeals for Bitcoin Donations From Federal Prison appeared first on BeInCrypto.

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