A hacker has been jailed for 5 years for laundering one of many largest cryptocurrency thefts ever.
Ilya Lichtenstein admitted final yr to hacking into the Bitfinex cryptocurrency change in 2016 and stealing almost 20,000 bitcoins.
He laundered the stolen cryptocurrency with the assistance of his spouse, Heather Morgan, who used the pseudonym Razzklekhan to advertise her hip-hop music.
On the time of the theft, Bitcoin was price round $70m (£55.3m), however by the point they have been caught, its worth had risen to greater than $4.5bn.
Deputy Lawyer Common Lisa Monaco mentioned on the time that the $3.6 billion price of belongings recovered within the case was the most important monetary seizure within the Justice Division’s historical past.
District Decide Colleen Kollar-Kotelly mentioned: “You will need to ship the message that you simply can’t commit these crimes with impunity and face the results.”
Lichtenstein, who has been in jail since his arrest in February 2022, expressed regret for his actions.
He additionally expressed his hope to make use of his expertise to battle cybercrime after serving his sentence.
Morgan additionally pleaded responsible final yr to 1 rely of conspiracy to commit cash laundering. She can be sentenced on November 18.
In line with court docket paperwork, Lichtenstein used superior hacking instruments and strategies to hack into Bitfinex.
After the hack, he enlisted Morgan’s assist in laundering the stolen funds.
They “employed many subtle washing strategies,” The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a statement.
These strategies embrace utilizing fictitious identities, changing funds into completely different cryptocurrencies, and buying gold cash.
Lichtenstein, who was born in Russia however grew up in the US, would meet couriers on household journeys and remit laundered a reimbursement residence, prosecutors mentioned.
Morgan’s image of Razlekan goes viral on social media When a case arises.
Even because the couple tried to cowl up the hack, she launched dozens of expletive-laden music movies and rap songs filmed throughout New York.
In her lyrics, she calls herself a “badass moneymaker” and a “crocodile of Wall Avenue.”
Within the article revealed by Forbes journal, Morgan additionally claimed to be a profitable expertise businesswoman, calling herself an “economist, serial entrepreneur, software program investor and rapper.”
