U.S. crypto court cases move toward 2026 trials and sentence review

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U.S. crypto court cases move toward trials

Highlights

Federal prosecutors propose a possible retrial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm for late October or November 2026, pending the outcome of his Rule 29 motion.
Judge John Koeltl grants prosecutors until mid-August to respond to Alex Mashinsky's pro se motion to vacate his 12-year sentence imposed in May 2025 and $48 million forfeiture.
Judge Margaret Garnett schedules jury selection for U.S. soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke's Polymarket insider trading case for Dec. 7, 2026, highlighting prediction market regulatory concerns.

SDNY filings set the next timetable

As reported by Cointelegraph, federal prosecutors on Monday submitted a proposed schedule for a possible retrial of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm, with a final pretrial conference proposed for Oct. 20 and a potential trial start in late October or November 2026.

Storm was found guilty on one of three charges tied to illegal money transmitting in 2025, while the jury deadlocked on two other counts. The filing says the timeline remains subject to the court's decision on Storm's Rule 29 motion seeking acquittal on the remaining charges.

If the retrial goes ahead, Storm faces the unresolved charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to violate sanctions. The case continues to draw attention across the digital asset sector because of its potential implications for whether developers can be held criminally liable for code they write.

In a separate SDNY matter, Judge John Koeltl grants prosecutors until mid-August to respond to Alex Mashinsky's pro se motion to vacate his 12-year sentence. The 60-day deadline follows Mashinsky's request that the court set aside the sentence imposed in May 2025, which led to his reporting to federal prison.

Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius, was indicted in 2023 alongside Roni Cohen-Pavon on fraud and market manipulation charges. Celsius filed for bankruptcy in 2022 during the broader crypto market downturn that also saw the collapse of FTX and Voyager Digital.

Broader legal pressure on crypto platforms and executives

As part of Mashinsky's criminal case, the former executive is ordered to pay $48 million in forfeiture. Cohen-Pavon receives a sentence of time served and is ordered to pay more than $1 million plus a $40,000 fine.

Another SDNY case is also moving toward trial. Judge Margaret Garnett, in a June 10 filing, orders pretrial motions in the case against U.S. soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, with jury selection scheduled for Dec. 7, 2026.

Prosecutors allege Van Dyke made more than $400,000 on a Polymarket event contract linked to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by using nonpublic information. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The Van Dyke case adds to scrutiny around prediction markets and their handling of sensitive information. It also raises wider policy questions for U.S. lawmakers and market operators over whether participants with access to classified or nonpublic information should be allowed to trade on event-driven contracts.

Our earlier report on Britain’s record £1 million sanctions fine against Sabre’s UK unit detailed how OFSI found the company continued providing services to sanctioned Russian airline Ural Airlines months after the May 2022 restrictions took effect. We noted that the case underscores a tougher enforcement climate around sanctions compliance, including scrutiny of attempts to route payments through alternative channels.

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