Bitfinex hacker Razzlekhan jailed for 18 months

Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan’s role in the $10.8 billion Bitfinex hack has earned her nearly two years in jail time, a court said on Nov. 18.

Morgan conspired with partner Ilya Lichtenstein to steal 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC) – worth $17 million back then – from the crypto exchange Bitfinex. The criminal couple pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering in July 2023 following their arrest in February 2022.

U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said Morgan willfully committed serious crimes and only stopped when forced to by law enforcement. Morgan claimed she learned of Lichtenstein’s theft after the fact. Her statement at the hearing expressed shame and regret for aiding her husband in the Bitfinex hack.

You were true partners in this laundering scheme. You did not stop voluntarily but stopped when you got arrested.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly

A U.S. court ruled that Morgan should be issued an 18-month sentence, as recommended by prosecutors. Lichtenstein, the hack’s mastermind, was sentenced to five years in prison last week. 

The maximum penalties would have totaled 25 years behind bars. However, Lichtenstein and Morgan laundered around a fifth of the illicit gains. The couple also forfeited all proceeds from the heist after federal authorities said they defrauded the U.S. and employed well-planned strategies to clean the money.

Lichtenstein and Morgan swapped assets across several chains, used crypto mixers to veil their on-chain footprints, exchanged crypto on dark web markets, and bought gold to launder the stolen wealth, according to investigators.