Mastermind behind crypto heist worth billions gets 5-year sentence
WASHINGTON – 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 crypto assets now worth billions of dollars.
Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein was sentenced in Washington on Nov 14, after he and his wife, Heather Morgan, pleaded guilty in 2023 in a scheme to hide proceeds from the 2016 hack.
Morgan, known as “Razzlekhan” in her rap videos, will be sentenced Nov 18. The government recommended an 18-month sentence for her.
Lichtenstein, 37, faced as long as 20 years behind bars.
But the government cited his substantial assistance that “has benefited…
