In the latest development in the Bitfinex hack saga, Heather Morgan, known as “Razzlekhan”, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for laundering the 120,000 Bitcoins stolen in 2016. The court decision follows the sentence of 5 years handed down against her husband for money laundering and conspiracy to rob. .
Razzlekhan: from rapper to “Bitcoin Bonnie”
Heather Morgan, wife of the mastermind behind the massive 2016 Bitfinex hack, was sentenced Monday by a federal judge in Washington for helping her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, launder nearly 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC).
Morgan is also known for her rap videos under her stage name “Razzlekhan”. The eponymous “Crocodile of Wall Street” has racked up hundreds of thousands of views on his videos, which went viral after the couple’s arrest in 2022.
According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Morgan’s husband used advanced hacking techniques and tools to gain access to Bitfinex’s network. After breaching the crypto exchange, Lichtenstein transferred 119,574 Bitcoins to one of his crypto wallets through over 2,000 transactions.
The stolen funds were valued at approximately $71 million in 2016. However, their value has increased significantly over the years, now worth almost $11 billion after Bitcoin surpassed $90,000 over the past seven days .
Although she was not involved in the hack, Morgan helped her husband launder the stolen Bitcoin, using “many sophisticated laundering techniques” to conceal the funds.
According to prosecutors, Lichtenstein said Morgan didn’t discover the hack until 2019 but sought his help in hiding the funds “without explaining exactly what he was doing.” The couple allegedly managed to launder 21% of the stolen funds.
The “Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde” used fake identities to create online accounts, deposited the stolen Bitcoin into several darknet markets and crypto exchanges to withdraw the funds, converted the Bitcoin to other cryptocurrencies, and deposited part of the funds into crypto mixers.
Bitfinex Hack Saga Ends With Reduced Prison Sentence
In August 2023, Morgan and Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. On November 18, District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Morgan to 18 months in prison, four days after her husband’s conviction.
Prosecutors argued that she was “certainly a willing participant and bore full responsibility for her actions.” However, they noted that Morgan was “a lower-level participant,” which led to a reduction in her sentence.
Although he cooperated with authorities and appeared “genuinely remorseful and unlikely to be a repeat offender,” the judge ruled that Morgan should risk prison to serve as an example and help deter further crimes. others to commit similar crimes.
Meanwhile, Lichtenstein was sentenced to 5 years in prison after cooperating with authorities in other crypto hacks. During his hearing, the mastermind behind the Bitfinex hack reportedly expressed remorse for using his talents for criminal activities “instead of making a positive contribution to society.”
Following the announcement of her conviction, Morgan released a statement to X. In the video, she apologized to her followers for her disappearance and explained that she had spent the last three years “fighting a Fed affair” and that she “listened to her lawyers”.
Finally, she announced that she would share her story and thoughts now that the case is over. As reported by Bitcoinist, Amazon greenlighted a film titled “Razzlekhan” about the Bitfinex hack earlier this year and will collaborate with MGM Studios for the production.
Bitcoin is trading at $92,344 in the weekly chart. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView
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