Razzlekhan Pleads Guilty, Husband Admits That He Hacked Bitfinex

Heather Rhiannon Morgan (aka “Razzlekhan”, 33) pled responsible to a cash laundering conspiracy in reference to the 2016 Bitfinex hack on Thursday, which noticed greater than 119,756 Bitcoin (BTC) robbed from clients.

This got here moments after her husband, Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein (35), pleaded responsible to being the person behind the hack itself.

Bitfinex Hacker Confirmed

In Washington, D.C., federal court docket, Lichtenstein confessed to each stealing and laundering the funds, formally clearing the air on a years-long thriller round one of many largest thefts in Bitcoin historical past. On the time of the hack, the alternate’s stolen BTC was value roughly $71 million however is value $3.4 billion at the moment.

“Lichtenstein used various superior hacking instruments and methods to realize entry to Bitfinex’s community,” wrote the Division of Justice in a press release on Thursday, citing court docket paperwork.

He then “enlisted” his spouse, Morgan, for help in laundering the funds and overlaying his tracks, utilizing “subtle strategies” together with fictitious identities, darknet markets, chain hopping, and cryptocurrency mixing companies. Some fashionable crypto mixers (ex. Blender, Twister Money) have already been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Division.

Liechtenstein confessed throughout his plea listening to that among the stolen funds had been transformed into gold cash that had been later buried by Morgan. Regulation enforcement officers now know the placement at which they’re buried.

He additionally transformed a few of his crypto into money by means of middlemen, throughout his previous travels to Ukraine and Russia. He picked up that money bodily at addresses in each nations, then deposited the cash into U.S. accounts to be retrieved in New York Metropolis.

The Sentence

For his or her crimes, Lichtenstein faces a most of 20 years in jail, whereas Morgan faces a most sentence of 5 years.

The defendants had been arrested in February 2022, and most of their stolen Bitcoin – 95,000 BTC – was seized by the federal government. The reclaimed property had been value $3.6 billion on the time, making it the largest financial seizure in history.

In an announcement, Bitfinex acknowledged having labored with the DOJ to get well the stolen Bitcoin and make clients complete.

“After seven years, these efforts have come to fruition,” the corporate stated.

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