Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in one of the largest cryptocurrency hacks till date- the 2016 attack of Bitfinex, and for money laundering of stolen funds.
According to Bloomberg reports, Lichtenstein’s sentence matched the five-year recommendation made by prosecutors, who had charged him with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the US, these crimes carry maximum penalties of 20 and five years, respectively.
Despite the severity of these charges, prosecutors recommended a shorter sentence due to his cooperation in this and other investigations, including his testimony in the Bitcoin Fog case.
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Lichtenstein’s wife and accomplice, Heather Morgan, known by her rap alias “Razzlekhan”, on the other hand awaits sentencing on Nov. 18. Prosecutors suggested an 18-month sentence for Morgan, citing her comparatively smaller role in the money-laundering operation.
The 2016 hack saw Lichtenstein allegedly steal roughly 120,000 bitcoin, valued at $72 million at the time (now worth around $10.7 billion). The funds were reportedly laundered through crypto mixers, darknet transactions, and other tactics to obscure their origin. The stolen bitcoin represents the largest cryptocurrency seizure in U.S. government history, according to the Department of Justice.
The Bitfinex hack was in the news recently as well, when a bunch of hackers managed to steal over $20 million from assets previously seized by the U.S. government. These funds, originally tied to the 2016 breach, were stored in a wallet labeled ‘U.S. Government: Bitfinex Hacker Seized Funds’ and included USDT, USDC, and aUSDC.
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Also Read: US Government’s $20M in Crypto Funds Being Laundered After Attack
