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hackers who helped launder the proceeds of bitcoin theft The former cryptocurrency exchange was sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in the conspiracy.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a release that Ilya Lichtenstein, 35, hacked into Internet networks. cryptocurrency exchange In 2016, Bitfinex used sophisticated hacking tools to fraudulently approve more than 2,000 transactions and transfer 119,754 Bitcoins from the exchange to a cryptocurrency wallet it controlled. He then deleted files from the exchange's access logs that could have exposed his actions to law enforcement.
Lichtenstein's plan to launder his ill-gotten gains, aided by the rapper's wife Heather Morgan, who goes by the stage name “Razul Khan,” went viral on social media platforms after the incident was discovered. In the song, Morgan raps about how he is a “wall street crocodile.”
The two deployed what the Justice Department called “a number of sophisticated cleaning techniques” to launder Bitcoin. Set up an online account using a fictitious identity. automated transactions. They then deposit the stolen funds on the darknet or a virtual currency exchange and withdraw the funds.
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Ilya Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in prison for Bitcoin theft and money laundering scheme. (Photo illustration: Chesnot/Getty Images/Getty Images)
They converted Bitcoin into other cryptocurrencies – an act known as “chain hopping” – and deposited the proceeds of crime with a cryptocurrency mixing service. The two also used US-based accounts to legitimize their banking activities and exchange some of the stolen funds for gold coins.
Prosecutors said in their filing that Mr. Lichtenstein told Mr. Morgan about the hack three years later, but before that Mr. Morgan had cooperated with the scheme “without explaining exactly what he was doing.” He said he had obtained. They added that the duo managed to launder about 21% of the proceeds.
of stolen bitcoin Its value at the time of the theft was approximately $70 million, but by the time of its arrest it had risen to more than $4.5 billion, and is worth more than twice that today.
Heather “Razulcan” Morgan has pleaded guilty to her role in Lichtenstein's stolen cryptocurrency laundering scheme. (OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Lichtenstein and Morgan pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges. money laundering In addition to the five-year prison sentence, Lichtenstein was ordered by the court to serve three years of supervised release.
Morgan is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18th.
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