The federal prosecutor presented evidence that Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm moved millions of dollars through Binance and collaborated with co-founders to transfer funds and purchase overseas real estate.
IRS-CI Special Agent Stephen George told the jury that he traced 533,000 USDT from a Binance account believed to be managed by Storm. He stated that these funds were moved on August 9, 2022, and distributed to three wallet addresses.
Storm Transferred 2.6 Million Dollars to Each Co-founder
The prosecution showed chat records between the three Tornado Cash founders: Roman Storm, Roman Semenov, and Alexey Pertsev. In one message, Storm wrote:
"I overloaded 8 million dollars yesterday."
In another message, he wrote:
"I sent 2.6 million dollars to each."
Agent George said these communications indicated that Storm had access to and decision-making authority over the wallet.
AUSA: What does this tell you?
โ Inner City Press (@innercitypress) July 23, 2025
Agent George: That Roman Storm has control over that Binance account. And you can conclude that Mr. Storm also had access to 2.6 million.
In a separate message, Storm reportedly told a colleague:
"Give me the mission to open multiple offshore accounts and purchase real estate."
The prosecution also read a message from Semenov:
"I'll send TORN later, to avoid getting caught."
The prosecution argued that these messages reveal an intent to hide transactions and profit from Tornado Cash's operations.
96% of Tornado Cash Users Depend on Web Interface
Earlier that day, AnChain.AI expert Philip Werrlau testified that 96.2% of users accessed Tornado Cash through its user interface (UI).
He stated that the Lazarus Group switched to CLI usage after US sanctions were imposed. Werrlau suggested this was a deliberate attempt to evade detection.
During cross-examination, Roman Storm's lawyer challenged Werrlau's conclusions. He emphasized that Tornado Cash's smart contract pool became immutable in May 2020, meaning Storm or the DAO could not modify it.
Klein also clarified that Tornado's UI does not directly process transactions. Deposits and withdrawals must interact with Ethereum's smart contracts, not a centralized interface.
Meanwhile, the prosecution presented an email sent to Tornado Cash's public email by a previous witness. Judge Pila warned the jury not to consider its contents as fact.
This first witness in Roman's trial immediately caught my attention bc the victim was a classic Pig Butchering case.
โ Tay ๐ (@tayvano_) July 18, 2025
The only issue isโฆ.uhโฆ..those scammers don't use Tornado Cash? And they never have?
So, like, wtf? https://t.co/27MlcXvc0z
The inclusion of this email may be related to previous concerns about a mistrial, but no motions have been filed.
What's Next for the Tornado Cash Trial
The prosecution plans to conclude the case tomorrow morning. A separate hearing for Chainalysis expert testimony is still pending.
Storm's defense is preparing arguments focusing on Tornado Cash's immutability and Storm's lack of control after deployment.
