Heather Morgan—also known by her rap name "Razzlekhan"—has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in laundering stolen Bitcoin
The sentencing was delivered on November 18 by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in the District Court of Washington, DC.
Her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, stole 119,754 Bitcoins (worth $10.9 billion at the time of writing) from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex
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Lichtenstein and Morgan were arrested in 2022 after admitting to laundering the enormous sum of stolen Bitcoin. Initially, investigators believed the duo's involvement was limited to money laundering. However, Lichtenstein later confessed in court to being the mastermind behind the Bitfinex hack itself.
On November 14, Judge Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Lichtenstein to a five-year prison term, shorter than the 20-year maximum outlined in sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors cited his cooperation in other investigations and his lack of prior criminal history as the primary factors that contributed to the reduced sentence.
Morgan's sentencing followed her guilty plea in August 2023 to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and to defraud the United States government.
With both sentences now handed down, the conclusion of this high-profile case serves as a reminder of the legal repercussions that await those who engage in cybercrime and financial fraud. It also illustrates the determination of law enforcement agencies to adapt and respond effectively to the challenges posed by cryptocurrencies.
In other news, Polter Finance, a decentralized platform for lending and borrowing, shut down its operations on November 17 after it lost $12 million to a hack. How did this happen? Read the full story.
