Keonne Rodriguez, co-founder of Samourai Wallet, faces another prison transfer after the drug treatment program at FCI McKean was deactivated, according to a statement posted Wednesday.
Rodriguez said the facility's warden informed program participants that he and approximately 70 others would be relocated to facilities where treatment programs remain available. Rodriguez enrolled in the program because completion could reduce his sentence by up to one year.
Rodriguez is serving a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The Justice Department stated that Rodriguez and Samourai co-founder William Lonergan Hill transmitted more than $237 million in criminal proceeds through the service.
Previous Transfer Details
Rodriguez described his earlier transfer from FPC Morgantown to McKean as the "absolute worst 30 days" of his life. Inmates leaving Morgantown were placed in ankle shackles and handcuffs attached to waist chains, then transported by bus to an airport and flown to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City.
At the transfer facility, Rodriguez reported being held with prisoners from different security classifications and spending most of his time confined to a cell. He was eventually assigned a cell with an inmate serving a murder sentence and provided only part of a foam mattress.
Developer Protections in Legislative Limbo
Rodriguez's case has paralleled congressional efforts to protect cryptocurrency developers who do not control user assets from being classified as financial intermediaries. The Senate CLARITY Act draft maintained provisions from the Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act aimed at protecting non-controlling developers from certain money-transmission requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act.
The Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on September 15 after a procedural vote fell short of the 60 votes needed to move the legislation forward.
