US hacker sentenced over Bitcoin heist
A hacker has been sentenced to five years in a US prison for laundering the proceeds of one of the biggest-ever cryptocurrency thefts.
Ilya Lichtenstein pleaded guilty last year in the case involving the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange being hacked in 2016 and the theft of almost 120 000 bitcoin. He laundered the stolen cryptocurrency with the help of his wife Heather Morgan, who used the alias Razzlekhan to promote her hip-hop music.
At the time of the theft, the bitcoin was worth around U$70m but had risen in value to more than U$4.5bn by the time they were arrested. At today's prices, they would be worth more than double that.
The U$3.6bn worth of assets recovered in the case was the biggest financial seizure in the US department of justice's history, deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco said at the time.
Lichtenstein, who has been in prison since his arrest in February 2022, expressed remorse for his actions. He also said that he hopes to apply his skills to fight cybercrime after serving his sentence.
Morgan also pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She is due to be sentenced on 18 November.
According to court documents, Lichtenstein used advanced hacking tools and techniques to hack into Bitfinex. Following the hack, he enlisted Morgan's help to launder the stolen funds.
They “employed numerous sophisticated laundering techniques”, the department of justice said in a statement. The methods included using fictitious identities, switching the funds into different cryptocurrencies and buying gold coins.
Ilya Lichtenstein pleaded guilty last year in the case involving the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange being hacked in 2016 and the theft of almost 120 000 bitcoin. He laundered the stolen cryptocurrency with the help of his wife Heather Morgan, who used the alias Razzlekhan to promote her hip-hop music.
At the time of the theft, the bitcoin was worth around U$70m but had risen in value to more than U$4.5bn by the time they were arrested. At today's prices, they would be worth more than double that.
The U$3.6bn worth of assets recovered in the case was the biggest financial seizure in the US department of justice's history, deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco said at the time.
Lichtenstein, who has been in prison since his arrest in February 2022, expressed remorse for his actions. He also said that he hopes to apply his skills to fight cybercrime after serving his sentence.
Morgan also pleaded guilty last year to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She is due to be sentenced on 18 November.
According to court documents, Lichtenstein used advanced hacking tools and techniques to hack into Bitfinex. Following the hack, he enlisted Morgan's help to launder the stolen funds.
They “employed numerous sophisticated laundering techniques”, the department of justice said in a statement. The methods included using fictitious identities, switching the funds into different cryptocurrencies and buying gold coins.
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