‘Crocodile of Wall Street’ and Husband Sentenced for Laundering 119,754 Bitcoins Stolen in Bitfinex Hack

Nov 18, 2024, 08:37 PM

Heather Morgan, also known as "Razzlekhan" and the "Crocodile of Wall Street," was sentenced to 18 months in prison for her role in laundering proceeds from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, in which 119,754 bitcoins were stolen. The stolen bitcoins, worth $71 million at the time and valued at over $10.7 billion today, were laundered through various methods, including the use of a cryptocurrency mixer. Morgan's husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, who masterminded one of the largest-ever thefts from a virtual currency exchange, was sentenced to five years in prison. Prosecutors noted Morgan's smaller role compared to her husband's in the laundering operation. She is the first person to serve time for conspiracy to defraud FinCEN by providing false information to banks to obstruct the agency's lawful functions. Both were sentenced in a D.C. courtroom on Monday.