Amazon MGM Studios is developing a 2022 film based on the lives of crypto thief Heather “Razilkan” Morgan and her husband Ilia Lichtenstein, who were indicted by the US Department of Justice in a $4 billion heist and money laundering conspiracy.
First reported by Deadline on Friday, the still-untitled film will be directed by Hannah Marks (“Don't Let Me Go”), who wrote the script and will be produced by “Riverdale” alum Lili Reinhart. The script is inspired by a 2022 New York Times article, and the publication is participating in the production with partner Anonymous Content.
An Amazon spokesperson declined Decrypt's request for further comment on the product or release date.
While the details are still sketchy, the film follows Morgan and Lichtenstein, who, after being jailed in 2022, confess to being behind the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange hack in 2016.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. “In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered the stolen funds using a lab of secret cryptocurrency transactions,” Monaco said. “Thanks to his dedication to law enforcement, the department has demonstrated once again how it can and will follow the money, regardless of where the money comes from.”
Before his arrest, Morgan was an aspiring rapper who went by the moniker “Razzlekahn,” writing as a Forbes contributor and working in the cybersecurity field.
The pair appeared before a Washington, D.C. judge last summer and admitted to stealing 120,900 Bitcoin, worth about $3.6 billion at the time. The couple agreed to forfeit their illegal benefits, but could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. The Department of Justice in 2011 In August 2023, he said he received another $475 million related to the heist.
Since her arrest two years ago, Morgan has denied any involvement with the cryptocurrency and NFT space.
In February 2022, NFTs featuring razilcan disappeared from the NFT marketplace OpenSea. The two missing NFTs were album covers for some Morgan Razilcan music videos for “Versace Bedouin” and “Social Distance”.
Morgan has not yet responded to Decrypt's request for comment.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
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