Russian man Lichtenstein pleads guilty in Bitfinex hacking case

Ilya Lichtenstein faces up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering, while his wife Heather Morgan faces up to 10 years in prison.

Russian Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan, known under the pseudonym Razzlekhan, pleaded guilty in the case of a hacking attack on the crypto exchange Bitfinex and the theft of about 120 thousand bitcoins, the U.S. Department of Justice reported.

"A married couple from New York pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to launder money as a result of hacking and stealing about 120 thousand bitcoins from the international cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex", - specified in the Department.

Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money. The maximum penalty under this article is 20 years in prison. Each of the charges carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison

In February 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice reported the seizure of $3.6 billion worth of bitcoins that were stolen during a hacking attack on cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016. The total amount of digital assets stolen in the attack was estimated at $4.5 billion. Lichtenstein and Morgan were under suspicion at the time.

Initially, the Federal District Court in Manhattan planned to release the spouses on bail, but the court in Washington canceled this decision. Such a decision was explained by the fact that the couple can store bitcoins worth more than $328 million in other accounts.

Later it became known that the court left Lichtenstein in custody, and Morgan will be released after paying $3 million.