Bitfinex hacker sentenced to 5 years in prison

Ilya Lichtenstein, one of the individuals who admitted to being behind the 2016 hack of the crypto exchange Bitfinex, has been sentenced to five years in prison.

In a Nov. 14 hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Lichtenstein to five years in prison following his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors had recommended the Bitfinex hacker serve five years for his role in the theft of Bitcoin (BTC) worth billions of dollars at the time of publication.

Sentencing guidelines allowed Judge Kollar-Kotelly to send Lichtenstein to prison for up to 20 years. However, prosecutors suggested leniency because the Bitfinex hacker had no prior criminal history and gave “substantial assistance” in other investigations.

In 2016, Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan — also known by her rapper name, Razzlekhan — stole 119,754 BTC from the Bitfinex exchange. The two allegedly laundered roughly 95,000 BTC before their arrest in February 2022.

Related: Only Bitfinex may get restitution in 2016 hack, per government filing

During an August 2023 hearing, Lichtenstein admitted to hacking the exchange. At the time, the Bitcoin connected to the hack was the largest amount of assets that had been seized by the US Department of Justice.

Husband and wife both going to prison?

Morgan is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 18 and has requested the judge impose no more prison time than that of her husband. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and defraud the US in August. 

In the FTX criminal case, co-founder Gary Wang is set to stand before a New York judge on Nov. 20 for sentencing. Some experts have speculated that he could be sentenced to time served due to his cooperation and limited role in the misuse of FTX user funds.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

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