After about two weeks of hearing from US government witnesses, Roman Storm’s legal team called Preston Van Loon to the stand to kick off its defense case.
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Prosecutors in the criminal trial of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm rested their case on Thursday, opening the door for defense counsel to call an Ethereum core developer as its first witness.
According to reporting by Inner City Press on Thursday from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Ethereum core developer Preston Van Loon in Storm’s defense case, which is expected to last about a week. The developer reportedly described Tornado Cash as a “privacy tool for Ethereum” and said he had used the mixing service four times to send a combined 43 Ether () in 2019 or 2020, citing safety concerns.
“If [hackers] know the scope of my assets I can become a target,” said Van Loon, according to reporting from the courtroom.
Prosecutors’ cross-examination of Van Loon was largely confined to questions about any personal connections to Storm and whether he used a “normal crypto platform like Coinbase.” Storm’s lawyers reportedly said on Wednesday that they planned to call “two or three doctors” to testify, and possibly someone from Chainalysis.
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Van Loon’s testimony marked the ninth day of Storm’s criminal trial, in which he faces charges of money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitter, and conspiracy to violate US sanctions related to his role at Tornado Cash.
The Ethereum core developer had already against the US Treasury over its sanctions against the crypto mixing service’s smart contract addresses.
With the defense expected to wrap up its case within two weeks, Storm’s lawyers made another filing on Thursday, requesting that the judge modify the jury instructions to clarify information on Tornado Cash and the North Korean hackers, the Lazarus Group.
Storm potentially faces years in prison if convicted. Judge Katherine Failla reportedly that she was mindful of the charges in other crypto-related cases, including that of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who was sentenced to 25 years after being found guilty of seven felony charges.
Alexey Pertsev, one of the three Tornado Cash co-founders and developers, was sentenced to more than five years in prison in 2024. He was found guilty of money laundering in the Netherlands.
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