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Heather Morgan buried the gold, but did not bury the tracks.
Heather "Razzlekhan" Morgan has been sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for participating in the laundering of funds stolen from the Bitfinex crypto exchange in 2016. Her husband Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein, who organized the theft of almost 120,000 BTC, previously received 5 years in prison.
According to authorities, the couple laundered about 20% of the stolen funds. At the time of the couple's arrest, the U.S. government said the criminals were trying to launder $4.5 billion in stolen bitcoins, of which the government managed to seize $3.6 billion, the largest financial seizure in history. Later, almost $1 billion more was seized related to the Bitfinex hack.
Morgan and Lichtenstein were detained in February 2022. Lichtenstein confessed to orchestrating the theft, and Morgan pleaded guilty to two charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. As previously stated, the spouses agreed to cooperate with American law enforcement agencies.
Despite Morgan's claims that she learned about the crime after it was committed, the investigation accused her of actively participating in hiding the sources of illegal funds. Among the methods used were operations in the shadow markets, "jumping" between cryptocurrencies, the use of mixers to anonymize transactions, the exchange of assets for gold coins and the legalization of funds through bank accounts.
The court hearing was attended by Morgan's relatives and friends, including those from Dubai and Hong Kong. They petitioned for leniency, emphasizing the sincere repentance of the defendant. The judge recognized that Morgan had significant support from loved ones, and her role in the crime was less significant compared to her husband. However, according to the judge, the punishment should serve as a warning to the cryptocurrency sector, which often becomes a field for illegal activities.
Morgan's defense insisted on limiting the sentence to house arrest already served and 17 days in prison, pointing to the defendant's ruined reputation, which, according to the lawyer, was undermined by her image as a rapper "Razzlekhan". The prosecutor's office, on the contrary, emphasized Morgan's active participation in criminal activities, citing as an example cases when she personally buried gold coins purchased with stolen funds.
During the hearing, Morgan burst into tears, expressing deep regret for what she had done. According to her, the consequences of her act will haunt her for the rest of her life. Later that day, Morgan posted a video message in which she stated that she would soon tell her story in more detail. The court granted the defendant a delay until the end of January to start serving her sentence, the exact date has not yet been set.
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Heather "Razzlekhan" Morgan has been sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for participating in the laundering of funds stolen from the Bitfinex crypto exchange in 2016. Her husband Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein, who organized the theft of almost 120,000 BTC, previously received 5 years in prison.
According to authorities, the couple laundered about 20% of the stolen funds. At the time of the couple's arrest, the U.S. government said the criminals were trying to launder $4.5 billion in stolen bitcoins, of which the government managed to seize $3.6 billion, the largest financial seizure in history. Later, almost $1 billion more was seized related to the Bitfinex hack.
Morgan and Lichtenstein were detained in February 2022. Lichtenstein confessed to orchestrating the theft, and Morgan pleaded guilty to two charges: conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. As previously stated, the spouses agreed to cooperate with American law enforcement agencies.
Despite Morgan's claims that she learned about the crime after it was committed, the investigation accused her of actively participating in hiding the sources of illegal funds. Among the methods used were operations in the shadow markets, "jumping" between cryptocurrencies, the use of mixers to anonymize transactions, the exchange of assets for gold coins and the legalization of funds through bank accounts.
The court hearing was attended by Morgan's relatives and friends, including those from Dubai and Hong Kong. They petitioned for leniency, emphasizing the sincere repentance of the defendant. The judge recognized that Morgan had significant support from loved ones, and her role in the crime was less significant compared to her husband. However, according to the judge, the punishment should serve as a warning to the cryptocurrency sector, which often becomes a field for illegal activities.
Morgan's defense insisted on limiting the sentence to house arrest already served and 17 days in prison, pointing to the defendant's ruined reputation, which, according to the lawyer, was undermined by her image as a rapper "Razzlekhan". The prosecutor's office, on the contrary, emphasized Morgan's active participation in criminal activities, citing as an example cases when she personally buried gold coins purchased with stolen funds.
During the hearing, Morgan burst into tears, expressing deep regret for what she had done. According to her, the consequences of her act will haunt her for the rest of her life. Later that day, Morgan posted a video message in which she stated that she would soon tell her story in more detail. The court granted the defendant a delay until the end of January to start serving her sentence, the exact date has not yet been set.
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