Originally published on: October 11, 2024
A recent court filing by United States prosecutors has revealed that Heather Morgan, also known as the rapper “Razzlekhan,” is being urged to serve an 18-month jail sentence for her involvement in the laundering of 120,000 Bitcoin stolen from the crypto exchange Bitfinex back in 2016.
The prosecutors emphasized that Morgan should receive a lenient sentence due to the “substantial assistance” she provided in her and her husband Ilya Lichtenshtein’s plea bargain earlier this year. They argued that Morgan played a lesser role compared to Lichtenshtein and only spent a fraction of the stolen funds.
Morgan confessed to charges of money laundering and fraud, admitting to her part in the laundering of the Bitcoin, now valued at approximately $7.2 billion. She could face up to 10 years behind bars for her crimes.
Initially believed to have been solely involved in the money laundering aspect of the Bitfinex hack, Lichtenshtein later admitted to orchestrating the hack and subsequent laundering of the funds. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Authorities revealed that Morgan was unaware of how the stolen Bitcoin was acquired at first but became complicit in the scam after learning about Lichtenshtein’s involvement. They utilized various sophisticated methods to launder the funds, including non-compliant crypto exchanges, darknet markets, and crypto mixers to conceal their activities.
In addition to the proposed 18-month jail term, prosecutors are requesting that Morgan return the seized crypto assets from the “Bitfinex Hack Wallet” as restitution to Bitfinex, totaling over $6 billion.
Morgan’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 15, following Lichtenshtein’s sentencing on November 14. Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.
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