Bitfinex hacker Razzlekhan jailed for 18 months

Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan’s role in the $10.8 billion Bitfinex hack earned her a nearly two-year prison sentence, the court said Nov. 18.

Morgan conspired with his partner Ilya Lichtenstein to steal 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC), then valued at $17 million, from crypto exchange Bitfinex. The criminal couple pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering charges in July 2023, following their arrest in February 2022.

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said Morgan committed serious crimes with intent and was stopped only when forced by law enforcement. Morgan claimed that he learned of Lichtenstein’s theft after the fact. In her testimony at the hearing, she expressed shame and regret for helping her husband hack Bitfinex.

You were the real partners in this laundering plan. You didn’t stop voluntarily, but you stopped when you were arrested.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly

A US court, on the recommendation of prosecutors, ruled that Morgan should be sentenced to 18 months in prison. Hack mastermind Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in prison last week.

Maximum sentences would total 25 years behind bars. But Lichtenstein and Morgan laundered approximately one-fifth of the illicit proceeds. The couple also lost all proceeds from the robbery after federal authorities said they defrauded the United States and employed well-planned strategies to clear the money.

According to investigators, Lichtenstein and Morgan swapped assets between various chains, used crypto mixers to hide their on-chain footprints, traded crypto on dark web markets, and purchased gold to launder stolen wealth.