Ilya Lichtenstein, the hacker who stole and laundered Bitcoin from the crypto exchange Bitfinex, has released a statement on social media after being sentenced to five years in prison.
In a Dec. 19 X post, Lichtenstein reaffirmed many of the statements he made in court leading to his incarceration. He confessed to hacking Bitfinex in 2016 and laundering “thousands of Bitcoin” but suggested he wanted to shoulder the entirety of the blame rather than his wife, Heather Morgan, who was also sentenced to prison time for her role in laundering Bitcoin BTC
$95,438.
“I knew what I was doing was wrong and did it anyway because I didn’t care, I didn’t care about anyone else except myself,” said Lichtenstein in a video message from prison, often appearing as though he were reading a prepared statement.
He added:
“I planned and executed the Bitfinex heist entirely by myself, and I am the one who bears full responsibility for everything that has happened […] [My wife] was in no way involved in the hack itself. She didn’t even know about it for years.”
Morgan, also known by her rapper handle “Razzlekhan,” pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and defraud the United States and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in November. Since her sentencing, the Bitfinex launderer has become active on social media again, posting on her YouTube channel about the conditions of her home arrest and soliciting requests from her supporters for her Cameo videos.
Backstory of Bitfinex hack
The 2016 hack of the Bitfinex exchange was one of the most significant events in the crypto space at the time, resulting in the loss of 119,754 BTC — worth millions eight years ago but more than $12 billion at the time of publication.
US authorities arrested Lichtenstein and Morgan in 2022 for laundering funds from Bitfinex, but Lichtenstein admitted in court to being behind the hack.
Departure of Justice officials seized the funds as part of its investigation, but Lichtenstein said they would begin reimbursing users “by the first quarter of next year.” A judge has scheduled a restitution hearing in Lichtenstein’s and Morgan’s case on Feb. 21.
The high-profile case drew the attention of streaming platform Netflix, which released a documentary series on the husband and wife. Lichtenstein pushed back against suggestions from Netflix that his father may have been involved in the events surrounding the Bitfinex breach:
“My dad is no hacker. He doesn’t even know how to use Instagram.”
Is Morgan back to promoting her brand?
It’s unclear why Lichtenstein called on his 1,167 X followers to differentiate between his and his wife’s actions in the Bitfinex hack. Shortly after her sentencing hearing on Nov. 18, Morgan posted a video to social media suggesting that she would be promoting “creative and other endeavors.”
Her Cameo channel, which she appeared to have launched on Dec. 13, charges users $125 for personalized video messages. Morgan played up her crimes on the platform, labeling herself as “crypto’s favorite felon” and the wife of a “notorious hacker” while asking for funds.
A court filing showed Morgan was scheduled to report to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, no earlier than Jan. 24. The facility for male and female inmates houses former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, who is serving a two-year sentence for her role in crypto exchange’s FTX downfall.
