• Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan pled guilty to money laundering conspiracies relating to the massive 2016 hack on the crypto exchange Bitfinex.
• Lichtenstein used advanced hacking tools and techniques to transfer 119,754 BTC, worth a staggering $3.5 billion at time of writing.
• After securing the stolen Bitcoin, the couple sent the crypto to darknet markets and mixers, utilized fake identities, tapped US-based business accounts to legitimize their banking activity and exchanged some of the stolen BTC for gold coins.
Bitfinex Heist
The notorious “Crypto Couple” Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan have admitted that they were behind the colossal 2016 crypto exchange hack of Bitfinex. On Thursday, they pled guilty to money laundering conspiracies in relation to this hack.
How it Happened
Lichtenstein confessed that he was responsible for executing this famous hack using “a number of advanced hacking tools and techniques” which enabled him to fraudulently authorize more than 2,000 transactions on Bitfinex’s network. In total he transferred 119,754 BTC, worth a staggering $3.5 billion at time of writing into wallets under his control.
Money Laundering
After successfully stealing these Bitcoins from Bitfinex’s network, Lichtenstein and Morgan quickly began trying to hide any digital paper trail by sending these funds into darknet markets and mixers as well as utilizing fake identities and US based business accounts in order to legitimize their banking activities even further. Lastly they even exchanged some of these stolen Bitcoins for gold coins which Morgan buried!
Criminal Charges
Both Lichtenstein and Morgan now face criminal charges with him facing up to 20 years in prison while she faces up 10 years behind bars due to her involvement with money laundering conspiracy as well as conspiracy defrauding the United States government respectively. Additionally a television limited series titled “Razzlekhan: The Infamous Crocodile of Wall Street” is reportedly being developed at Hulu which will be based upon their story!
Conclusion
What started off as an exciting adventure in cryptocurrency trading has now ended as a nightmare for both Ilya Lichtenstein Heather Morgan who have been found guilty by U.S Department Of Justice (DOJ) for their involvement with this infamous 2016 crypto exchange hack on BitFinex – leaving them facing potentially decades behind bars!