Feds want Bitfinex hacker ‘Razzlekhan’ jailed for 18 months
U.S. prosecutors have ordered Heather Morgan, also known as rapper “Razalcan,” to 18 months in prison for withdrawing 120,000 bitcoins stolen from crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016.
In an Oct. 9 filing, federal prosecutors asked for a lenient sentence after Morgan provided “substantial assistance” to her and her husband, Ilia Lichtenstein's July 2023 plea bargain.
Prosecutors argued for a lighter sentence for Morgan, saying she was a “low-level participant” from a relative from Liechtenstein and spent only a “small fraction” of what the pair stole.
Morgan In August 2023, he pleaded guilty to fraud and embezzlement of $7.2 billion by counterfeiting Bitcoin (BTC). She faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Federal prosecutors charged Heather Morgan with He said she should be sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in siphoning off the proceeds of the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Source: PACER
Morgan and Lichtenstein They were believed to be responsible for illegally withdrawing the funds stolen in the 2016 Bitfinex hack. However, Lichtenstein later admitted that he was behind the hacking and money laundering.
Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle criminals and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
State prosecutors say Morgan Lichtenstein “didn't know at first” how he got the 120,000 BTC, but in 2016 In early 2020, Lichtenstein told her that he was responsible for the hacking and that she helped him embezzle the money and conspired to cover up his involvement.
“[Morgan] “Her husband made a conscious decision to commit a specific criminal act by spending millions of stolen funds for his personal gain,” the prosecutor said in the charge sheet.
“This was not a spur-of-the-moment or spur-of-the-moment decision: the defendant knowingly participated in a money-laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud over the years,” the prosecutor added.
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Prosecutors said Morgan and Lichtenstein used “a variety of technologically sophisticated means” to secure the stolen bitcoins, including non-compliant crypto exchanges, dark markets and crypto mixers to cover their tracks.
The government also said Morgan used some of the stolen funds to buy physical gold coins, which she buried in a “secret location” that has since been disclosed to authorities.
As part of Morgan's 18-month sentence, prosecutors asked the court to order her to return government-seized crypto assets from the “Bitfinex Hack Wallet” to Bitfinex in kind.
The wallet has about 95,000 BTC, 117,400 Bitcoin Cash (BCH), 117,400 Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) and 118,100 Bitcoin Gold (BTG) – worth more than 6 billion dollars.
Morgan's sentencing hearing was set for Nov. 15, the day after Lichtenstein was scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14.
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