Partner Keri Axel Delivers Open Arguments to Jury in Roman Storm Trial

Speaking to jurors in the trial of Roman Storm, one of three founders of the decentralized crypto tumbler that allows users to conceal the source of crypto funds, Partner Keri Curtis Axel said, “You’ll never hear any evidence that Roman or the [other] co-founders participated in any hacks …”

On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Law360 reported that Axel, a former federal prosecutor, told the New York federal jury that Storm, a Seattle-based software developer and co-founder of Tornado Cash, had nothing to do with North Korean cybercriminals who used the cryptocurrency mixer to launder more than $1 billion in illegal gains.

Federal prosecutors say that from 2019 to 2022, Tornado Cash facilitated more than $1 billion in money laundering transactions, including hundreds of millions of dollars for the Lazarus Group, a sanctioned North Korean cybercrime organization.

Storm has pled not guilty, arguing he had no control over funds that were funneled into Tornado Cash and never collected fees on their transmission. Storm says he is only a software developer; he is not alleged to have personally touched any cryptocurrency that the government alleges is linked to criminal activity. He is charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Powers Act.

Storm is represented by the Waymaker team of Brian Klein, Axel, Kevin Casey, Becky S. James, and Viviana Andazola Marquez.

The case is U.S. v. Storm, case number 1:23-cr-00430, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.