TL;DR
- Keonne Rodriguez Transfer: The drug treatment program at FCI McKean was deactivated, leaving 70 inmates facing relocation to facilities where treatment remains available.
- Conditions: His previous transfer from FPC Morgantown took him through the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City.
- Policy: His case continues alongside congressional debate over protections for non-controlling developers. The Senate CLARITY Act failed to advance on Sept. 15 after falling short of the required 60 votes.
Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez is facing another prison transfer after the drug treatment program at FCI McKean was deactivated. Rodriguez said the prison’s warden told participants that he and 70 other inmates would be relocated to facilities where treatment remains available. Completing the program could reduce his five-year sentence by up to one year, making continued access to treatment especially important for his time in custody.
Treatment Closure Brings Another Transfer
Keonne Rodriguez entered the program after arriving at McKean from FPC Morgantown, a journey he later described in a letter published by The Rage as the “absolute worst 30 days” of his life. His request to make the roughly four-hour trip himself was denied. According to his account, Keonne Rodriguez and other inmates leaving Morgantown were placed in ankle shackles and handcuffs attached to waist chains.
They were then taken by bus to an airport and flown to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City. At the transfer facility, Keonne Rodriguez said he was housed with prisoners from different security classifications and spent most of his time locked in a cell. He wrote that he questioned whether “all the circles of hell” were contained inside the facility.
Keonne Rodriguez also said he eventually shared a cell with an inmate serving a murder sentence. He received only part of a foam mattress, leaving part of his body resting on a metal bunk overnight. Now, the closure at McKean leaves Keonne Rodriguez facing another move through the federal prison system.
Keonne Rodriguez Five-Year Sentence Meets a Wider Policy Debate
Keonne Rodriguez is serving a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to conspiring to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. The Justice Department said he and Samourai co-founder William Lonergan Hill transmitted more than $237 million in criminal proceeds through the service. The case involving Keonne Rodriguez has unfolded alongside congressional efforts concerning developers who do not control users’ assets.
The latest Senate CLARITY Act draft retained Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act provisions protecting non-controlling developers from certain money-transmission requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act. Those legislative efforts remain unresolved. The Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15 after a procedural vote fell short of the 60 votes required. For Keonne Rodriguez, the immediate concern is another relocation and whether treatment can continue at the next facility.
