Former Ethereum Developer Virgil Griffith Seeks Sentence Reduction for Assisting North Korea with Blockchain Technology
Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith, who was sentenced to 63 months in prison in 2022 for assisting North Korea in utilizing blockchain technology, has filed a request for a sentence reduction.
The plea was presented in a letter from Griffith’s attorney , Glen Garrett McGorty, to Judge Kevin Castel of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 17.
The letter argues for a revision of Griffith’s sentence based on recent amendments to U.S. sentencing guidelines.
These revisions include a provision for a two-point offense level reduction for certain “zero-point” offenders.
Griffith’s legal team asserts that he qualifies for this reduction under the outlined criteria.
Griffith was originally sentenced to 63 months in prison and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine in April 2022 after pleading guilty to violating U.S. sanctions laws.
His offense involved attending a conference in North Korea and providing assistance to the country in using blockchain technology, despite economic sanctions imposed by the United States.
The requested reduction in Griffith’s sentence would result in a lowering of his total offense level from 26 to 24.
This would correspondingly adjust the guidelines range for his sentence to 51 to 63 months, potentially reducing his term by a year or more.
In the letter, Griffith’s defense team urges the court to instruct the U.S. Probation Office to prepare a revised pre-sentence investigation report and schedule a resentencing hearing.
They also seek an opportunity for briefing to present updated information and arguments in support of their reduction request.
A “zero-point” offender, as defined in the revised guidelines, refers to a first-time, non-violent
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