Tornado Cash founder Roman Storm claims he’s been “financially cancelled” after payroll firm Gusto closed his account amid his ongoing legal battle with the US government.
Gusto said it dropped Storm’s payroll account after an “extensive review,” adding, “Our decision cannot be reversed and you need to find a new payroll provider effective immediately.”
As a result, Storm, who is currently embroiled in a high-profile money laundering trial linked to his operation of crypto mixer Tornado Cash, complained that, “Financial cancel culture is still hitting me hard.”
He also noted that he had a growing list of financial companies that reject users who are undergoing criminal or civil legal proceedings against them.
Read more: US gov’t weaponised evidence against Tornado Cash, report
Notion of Roman Storm mistrial shot down
Storm’s trial began last week after the US charged him with money laundering and sanctions violations.
The notion of a potential mistrial was raised, however, yesterday’s witness, IRS Agent Stephan George, effectively shot this down, testifying that he tracked the funds stolen from witness Hangfeng “Katie” Lin to Tornado Cash.
Read more: Tornado Cash still laundering funds as founder Roman Storm stands trial
Prior to this, the defense had suggested that the stolen funds weren’t clearly linked to Tornado Cash. Various online sleuths backed this up and suggested it was “fully inexcusable” to claim Lin’s funds were linked to the mixer.
The Rage reports, however, that George’s tracing method of “last in, first out” doesn’t prove ownership of funds moved across blockchains, and George admitted that his tracing didn’t prove that the hacker moved Lin’s funds into Tornado Cash.
As reported by The Rage, there’s a chance that a final verdict will be reached before Friday next week as the defence prepares to make its case tomorrow afternoon.
