In ongoing proceedings of the $1 billion money laundering and sanctions trial against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm, an admitted cryptocurrency fraudster revealed how he used the decentralized crypto mixer to conceal the proceeds of a $1.1 million NFT rug pull.
Andre Llacuna, 23, testified Wednesday that he and coconspirator Ethan Nguyen orchestrated a fraudulent scheme involving the sale of 8,888 “Frosties” NFTs on the OpenSea exchange in January 2022. Despite promising access to a metaverse game, the project was a sham. After collecting approximately $1.1 million from investors, Llacuna and Nguyen abruptly shut down the Frosties website and attempted to obscure their illicit gains.
Facing mounting scrutiny on the public Ethereum blockchain, Llacuna admitted they turned to Tornado Cash as the “best option” to hide the stolen funds and evade detection. He explained, “It was valuable because people would be unable to trace back the original way we got the cryptocurrency.” Despite efforts, authorities arrested both individuals within two months, with Nguyen sentenced to probation and ordered to forfeit nearly $579,000.
The testimony forms part of prosecutors’ broader case alleging that Storm and his associates operated Tornado Cash as a “washing machine” for illicit funds, enabling criminals—including fraudsters and the North Korean Lazarus hacking group—to launder more than $1 billion over four years.
Additional testimony from Joseph Evans, partner at McDermott Will & Emery, detailed his efforts to recover stolen assets linked to a $196 million heist of crypto exchange BitMart, further highlighting Tornado Cash’s role in facilitating anonymous transactions.
The trial continues in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York under case number 1:23-cr-00430.
