Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan has been sentenced to nearly two years in prison for her involvement in the $10.8 billion Bitfinex hack, a court announced on November 18.
Morgan collaborated with her partner Ilya Lichtenstein to steal 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC) – valued at $17 million at the time – from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. The criminal duo pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and money laundering in July 2023 after being arrested in February 2022.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia stated that Morgan knowingly engaged in serious criminal activities and only ceased her actions when compelled by law enforcement. Morgan claimed that she only learned of Lichtenstein’s theft after it had already occurred. During the hearing, she expressed remorse and regret for assisting her husband in the Bitfinex hack.
The court ruled that Morgan should serve an 18-month sentence, as recommended by prosecutors. Lichtenstein, the mastermind behind the hack, was sentenced to five years in prison the previous week.
While the maximum penalties could have amounted to 25 years in prison, Lichtenstein and Morgan managed to launder approximately one-fifth of the stolen funds. The couple also surrendered all proceeds from the heist after federal authorities determined that they had defrauded the U.S. and utilized sophisticated methods to launder the money.
Investigators revealed that Lichtenstein and Morgan transferred assets across various chains, utilized crypto mixers to conceal their on-chain activities, traded cryptocurrencies on dark web platforms, and purchased gold to clean the stolen funds.