The infamous hacker behind the large $10.934 billion exploit of crypto trade Bitfinex is being sentenced to 5 years in jail.
In keeping with a brand new press launch by the U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ), Ilya Lichtenstein – who hacked Bitfinex in 2016 and fraudulently despatched 119,754 Bitcoin (BTC) to a pockets underneath his management – has been sentenced to 5 years for his position within the scheme.
Courtroom paperwork reveal that after the exploit, Lichtenstein took measures to cowl his tracks, corresponding to deleting key Bitfinex information that would have helped regulation enforcement determine him. Moreover, he requested his spouse to assist him launder the stolen cash.
Lichtenstein and his spouse, Heather Morgan, utilized subtle money-washing strategies – together with depositing and withdrawing funds into and out of darknet and cryptocurrency trade, changing the BTC to different types of digital belongings and utilizing crypto mixing companies – to obfuscate the funds, based on the DOJ.
Lichtenstein and his spouse each pleaded responsible to 1 rely of conspiracy to commit cash laundering on August third, 2023. Whereas Morgan is slated to be sentenced on November 18th, Liechtenstein will serve his time period plus three years of supervised launch.
Earlier this month, in her sentencing memo, Morgan mentioned she was in “full shock” when her husband advised her concerning the hack 4 years after the actual fact. In keeping with Morgan, she felt complicit and helped him cowl up his tracks as a result of she had accepted stolen crypto from him earlier than.
“In 2020, I realized that my husband Ilya Lichtenstein dedicated a critical crime in 2016. When he advised me what he had completed, I used to be in full shock. I made the poor resolution to become involved in Ilya’s crime. Our relationship was removed from excellent, however I deeply love and care about my husband, and the reality is, I didn’t need him to go to jail as a result of we have been planning to begin a household collectively.”
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