The U.S. Department of Justice arrested the couple accused of laundering bitcoins worth 94,636 that were stolen from Bitfinex 2016. DOJ claims that Ilya Lichtenstein (technentrepreneur), and Heather Morgan conspired in laundering billions of dollars of bitcoin. If convicted, the duo face up to 25 years imprisonment in federal prison. Five months later, a report indicates that a federal judge has given Morgan permission to get a job and “engage in legitimate employment.”
Heather Morgan (ex-Forbes Author, Street Rapper) was given pre-Trial Release to Allow Her To Work
Heather Morgan, one among the Bitfinex money launderers is now allowed to apply for a job. A judge gave the ex-tech writer at Forbes permission to continue working while she continues her legal proceedings. Morgan, who also performed as a New York street rapper called “Razzlekhan” or the “Crocodile of Wall Street,” is accused of an “alleged conspiracy to launder” 94,636 bitcoins which are currently worth $1.95 billion using current BTC exchange rates. Morgan and her husband were both arrested in the early part of the year. The Bitcoins from Bitfinex’s 2016 hack had once been worth $4.5 Billion.
A Bloomberg report this week indicates Morgan has been granted permission by a federal judge to continue working during her pre-trial release. Statistics show that crimes such as burglary and murder have very little chance of being granted pre-trial freedom. However, those accused of conspiracy to launder or fraud have an 82% chance at obtaining pretrial release for certain engagements like going to a funeral or working. The judge presiding over Morgan’s case has allowed the former tech author and rapper to seek “legitimate employment.”
Six years ago was the notorious 2016 Bitfinex hack. The exchange had lost 119.754 BTC by 10:26 AM (ET) on August 2. The news of the 2016 Bitfinex hack spread quickly and bitcoin’s price dropped by 22% against the U.S. Dollar in the 24 hours that followed. Bitfinex hackers may have been able to gain access to the Bitfinex server several weeks prior the theft of crypto assets. According reports, the hackers searched for the private keys. The Bitfinex theft was an ongoing mystery for six years or until just five months ago. Onchain sleuths who watched the coins were monitored to see if there were any movements on the blockchain.
US Law Enforcement Agent Claim 2017 Alphabay Transactions Allowedly Related to Morgan and Lichtenstein
The Bitfinex stolen bitcoins did not move for several months. But they started to move in January 2017. The bitcoins were believed to have been mixed by BTC tumbling service and sent to Alphabay darknet market (DNM). The 119.754 bitcoins that were stolen were transferred to BTC wallets on a couple of occasions, although most transfers were made in fractions. On February 1, 2022, the stolen bitcoins of 2016, 94 636 BTC, were combined into one address. No one at that time knew how and why. It wasn’t until a week later that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) notified the public that law enforcement seized the 94,636 BTC.
The DOJ disclosed that a married couple, Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31, were arrested for an “alleged conspiracy to launder” the stolen Bitfinex BTC. Afr.com reports that Morgan and Lichtenstein were also arrested for allegedly conspiring to launder the Bitfinex BTC. However, the law enforcement agent that made the connection refused to give details about when and how the connections were discovered.
While Morgan has been granted permission to find “legitimate employment” opportunities, her and Lichtenstein’s ostensible story has seen a lot of press during the last five months. For instance, almost immediately after the couple’s arrest, the streaming media firm Netflix revealed it had “ordered a documentary series about a married couple’s alleged scheme to launder billions of dollars worth of stolen cryptocurrency in the biggest criminal financial crime case in history.”
Do you agree with Heather Morgan’s permission to continue working while the money laundering trial proceeds before a federal judge? Please comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.
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