Tornado Cash Co-Founder Challenges DOJ Over Developer Liability

Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm has challenged the Department of Justice's (DOJ) reasoning behind his conviction, pointing out the inconsistency in holding a software developer responsible for misuse of a neutral tool. In an August 2026 post, Storm argued that if applied consistently, the DOJ's theory should also ensnare Google and OpenAI.

Storm was convicted in August 2025 of one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business after a multi-week trial in the Southern District of New York (SDNY). Prosecutors alleged that Tornado Cash, a non-custodial mixing service Storm helped create, facilitated over $1 billion in criminal proceeds, including funds linked to North Korean cyber operations.

Storm has maintained that he wrote open-source code and never controlled user funds or directed any illicit activity. In his recent post, he quoted reporting on North Korean IT workers using OpenAI's ChatGPT for writing, coding, and technical assignments, while preferring Google's Gemini for image alteration and document forgery.