Crypto Crime Doesn’t Pay: 5 Years for Tech Mogul

United States: A technology entrepreneur from New York was arrested on Thursday and was sentenced to five years of imprisonment after he was convicted last year for money laundering of funds that were stolen from Bitfinex, one of the biggest global cryptocurrency exchange platforms,, and with the help of his wife.

Ilya Lichtenstein, the 35-year-old, invaded the Bitfinex digital currency exchange’s network in the course of the year 2016 with sophisticated hacking technologies and tools and stole approximately 120,000 bitcoins, the U.S. Justice Department stated, as reported by Reuters.

Role of “Razzlekhan” in the Scheme

He and his wife, Heather Morgan, under the hip-hop alias of Razzklekhan, making music, were apprehended in February 2022.

While it was stolen it was only worth $71 million, but by the time the thieves were caught, it was valued at more than $4.5 billion.

Historic Recovery

Libya’s Deputy Autoriy General Lisa Monaco said at the time that the value of $3.6 billion seized from the twosome by a federal prosecutor was the largest seizure in DoJ history.

The same year, Morgan had also pleaded guilty on a count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Morgan is expected to be sentenced on 18, November, as reported by Reuters.

Additional Sentencing Details

Aside from the term of imprisonment, Lichtenstein has been further ordered to receive three years of supervised release, the U.S. Justice Department reported.