Roman Storm’s legal defense team is currently weighing the option of filing for a mistrial following their inability to trace crucial witness testimony back to Tornado Cash, the crypto mixer developer’s attorneys disclosed on Monday.
The team informed U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla that they were unable to confirm whether funds belonging to witness Hanfeng Leng, who fell victim to a $250,000 pig butchering scam in 2021, were ultimately routed through Tornado Cash.
In a statement reported by Inner City Press, Storm’s counsel stated, “Based on our research over the weekend, we can’t find that any of Ms. Lin’s funds went to Tornado Cash. We need to confer with Mr. Storm about moving for a mistrial.”
Should Failla approve the motion for a mistrial, Storm’s trial could potentially be dismissed altogether, or the DeFi developer may face a retrial.
This development comes on the heels of the defense team highlighting “serious errors” and “factual inaccuracies” in the prosecution’s case against Storm in a court document submitted on July 12. The defense raised concerns about key Telegram messages from reported co-conspirator Alex Pertsev’s phone, which the prosecution intends to present in court, being “cherry-picked” and lacking crucial identifying information.
Storm’s lawyers emphasized in the court filing that the extracted Telegram messages appeared to be inaccurate, with critical information missing, thereby undermining their reliability.
In a separate plea on social media, the crypto mixer employee sought support from his followers to raise funds for his legal defense. Storm revealed the urgent need to secure $500,000 in the coming days and $1.5 million within a couple of weeks to cover mounting legal fees, expert witnesses, and research expenses as the case extends beyond the initial projected timeline.
Expressing his dedication to defending code as free speech, protecting software development, and resisting government overreach, Storm emphasized the relentless efforts of his team in fighting for justice.
As the decision on whether to pursue a mistrial remains uncertain, the legal battle surrounding Roman Storm continues to unfold, with implications for the future of DeFi development and the broader crypto community.
The article was originally posted on Cryptonews and featured on Twitter.