The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has set up a website to collect statements from people affected by the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
The initiative aims to give Ilia Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, an opportunity to come forward as potential victims of crime. The initiative was announced at a press conference of the Department of Justice on November 7.
While the DOJ's position is that there are no victims of crimes charged under the Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA), the Department is issuing this notice to the public so that anyone who may have been harmed by the actions of the defendants can be heard. This includes affected Bitfinex account holders.
In the year In August 2016, Ilya Lichtenstein hacked into the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and stole around 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). At the time of the robbery, the assets were worth about $72 million. But now, the stolen bitcoins alone amount to $9.2 billion.
Following the breach, Liechtenstein devised a complex scheme to disguise the stolen assets. This scheme involves multiple layers of transactions, the use of cryptocurrency mixers, ties to unregulated exchanges, the use of dark markets, and the transfer of funds through bank accounts in the US and abroad.
Heather Morgan helped Lichtenstein launder money. In the year
In the year On August 3, 2023, Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy. His sentencing is set for Nov. 14, 2024—the Justice Department recommended a sentence of more than five years. On the same day last August, Morgan pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. Her sentencing is set for November 15, 2024.
The report says a hacker recently withdrew $20 million in assets from the US government's kriptovalyutnyh wallet from the Bitfinex hack, and returned the bulk of the funds days later. About $19.3 million was returned, but some funds were transferred to exchanges and never returned.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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