Cybersecurity
Leader of Crypto Heist Worth Billions Gets 5-Year Sentence
- Ilya Lichtenstein tried to launder proceeds of Bitfinex hack
- His rapper wife ‘Razzlekahn’ is set to be sentenced on Monday
Heather Morgan, also known as "Razzlekhan."
Photographer: Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The mastermind behind one of the biggest-ever Bitcoin heists was ordered to serve five years in prison for conspiring with his social-media rapper wife to launder money he stole by hacking into the Bitfinex exchange and grabbing cryptoassets now worth billions of dollars.
Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein was sentenced in Washington federal court Thursday, after he and his wife, Heather Morgan, pleaded guilty last year in a scheme to hide proceeds from the 2016 hack. Prosecutors recommended he get five years. Morgan, known as “Razzlekhan” in her rap videos, will be sentenced Nov. 18. The government recommended an 18-month sentence for her.