United

Bitcoin

One of the two individuals responsible for laundering stolen Bitcoin connected to the 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Washington, DC, District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Heather Morgan — also known by her rapper alter ego “Razzlekhan” — to 18 months in prison in a Nov. 18 hearing. Morgan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and defraud the United States in August 2023.
Morgan and her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, admitted to laundering millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">BTC</a>) stolen from Bitfinex before their 2022 arrests. US authorities initially suspected the couple had only been responsible for laundering the stolen funds, but Lichtenstein later admitted in court to hacking the exchange.<iframe width="100%" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/710kWBFxrCU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Judge Kollar-Kotelly <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitfinex-hack-money-laundering-ilya-lichtenstein-sentenced" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitfinex-hack-money-laundering-ilya-lichtenstein-sentenced">sentenced Lichtenstein to five years</a> in prison on Nov. 14 — far less than the 20 years allowed by sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors cited the hacker’s “substantial assistance” in other investigations and the fact he had no prior criminal history.&nbsp;
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitfinex-2016-bitcoin-hack-restitution-us-government" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Only Bitfinex may get restitution in 2016 hack, per government filing</a>
In 2016, Lichtenstein stole 119,754 BTC from Bitfinex. The funds were worth millions at the time of the hack but were valued at roughly $10.8 billion at the time of publication. At the time, the Bitcoin represented the largest seizure by the US Department of Justice.
<h2 id="different-approach-to-crypto-related-crimes">Different approach to crypto-related crimes?</h2>
Though Lichtenstein was indicted in Washington, DC, many of the most high-profile crimes tied to crypto firms take place under the jurisdiction of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Authorities there tried five executives responsible for the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, and a trial is scheduled for former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky in January.
On Nov. 15, a prosecutor with the district’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-york-prosecutor-scale-back-crypto-cases" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/new-york-prosecutor-scale-back-crypto-cases">suggested that authorities</a> would scale back investigations and enforcement involving crypto-related crimes in the future. Former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton could also serve as US attorney for the district starting in 2025 <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trumps-former-sec-chair-us-attorney-southern-district-new-york" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" text="null" title="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trumps-former-sec-chair-us-attorney-southern-district-new-york">following an announcement</a> by President-elect Donald Trump.
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/hackers-crypto-wallets-recover-savings/" rel="null" target="null" text="null" title="null">Meet the hackers who can help get your crypto life savings back</a>

Bitfinex money launderer ‘Razzlekhan’ sentenced to 18 months in prison

Table of Contents

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Nov 18, 2024

Speculation looms over SEC leadership under Trump as rhetoric escalates

MicroStrategy Makes Significant Bitcoin Purchase

Introduction to Liquidity Pools

Benjamin Cowen Predicts Cardano’s Decline Against Bitcoin by Year-End

Ethereum Bulls Aggressively Withdrawing ETH from Exchanges: What Does It Mean?

SEI Partners with Drift Zone for Gaming Boost

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!