Storm’s Lawyers May Call Mistrial Over Dubious Scam Link

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Roman Storm’s Lawyers May Call Mistrial Over Dubious Scam Link

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: July 22, 2025

Key Takeaways

Roman Storm’s legal team may seek a mistrial as they argue a witness has no proven link to Tornado Cash;
Scam victim Hanfeng Lin said her stolen Bitcoin went through Tornado Cash, but the defense disputes this claim;
An FBI agent admitted he did not trace Lin’s funds, so prosecutors plan to call another expert to confirm the connection.

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Roman Storm’s Lawyers May Call Mistrial Over Dubious Scam Link

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Lawyers for Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, have told a judge they may ask to cancel the trial due to a witness they believe has no connection to the case.

The matter was raised in a Manhattan courtroom on July 21 before US District Judge Katherine Polk Failla, according to a report by Inner City Press.

The concern came after government witness Hanfeng Lin gave her testimony. Lin said she lost $190,000 in a cryptocurrency scam that began on WhatsApp.

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She explained that someone she met online convinced her to buy Bitcoin BTC $91,479.86 and transfer it to a fake trading platform. After she realized her money was gone, she was told by a company called Payback that some of her funds went through Tornado Cash.

However, Storm’s lawyer, David Patton, told the court that their own review did not show any of Lin’s coins going through the Tornado Cash service. He said he would speak with Storm about possibly requesting a mistrial.

The defense also questioned FBI agent Joseph DeCapua, who had explained how crypto from hacks moved into Tornado Cash.

When asked if he had looked into Lin’s transactions, he said he had not. Patton noted that this was surprising, as the defense expected DeCapua to make the link between Lin’s losses and the platform.

In response, the prosecution said it planned to bring in IRS analyst Stephan George to show that Lin’s funds did pass through Tornado Cash.

On July 15, prosecutors stated that Tornado Cash allowed North Korea to launder $600 million from the 2022 Ronin hack. How did Storm's legal team respond? Read the full story.