Crypto Husband-Wife Couple Reach Plea Deal in $4.5 Billion Bitcoin Heist

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Posted: July 21, 2023 3:33 PM ET

The crypto husband-and-wife couple accused in a 2016 $4.5 billion bitcoin heist have reached a plea deal with prosecutors, according to a filing Friday.

The couple, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, are scheduled to appear for a plea hearing in federal district court in Washington, DC on August 3, according to the court filing.

Details…

The crypto husband-and-wife couple accused in a 2016 $4.5 billion bitcoin heist have reached a plea deal with prosecutors, according to a filing Friday.

The couple, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, are scheduled to appear for a plea hearing in federal district court in Washington, DC on August 3, according to the court filing.

Details of the agreement were not included in the court filing or record. Messages left with the defendants’ attorneys were not immediately returned, and a spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s Office in DC declined to comment.

Lichtenstein, 35, and Morgan, 33, faced up to 25 years in federal prison when they were first charged with money laundering and fraud after their February 2022 arrest.

The pair was busted after investigators found $3.6 billion in bitcoins that were stolen in a 2016 hack of the Bitfinex trading platform from crypto wallets the pair controlled.

At the time of the heist, bitcoin was worth $71 million, but its value had skyrocketed to $4.5 billion by the time of their arrest.

One of the main investigative questions revolves around what role, if any, the pair played in the initial hack. Neither has been accused of carrying out the hack themselves.

The couples’ arrest, coupled with Morgan’s outspoken social media persona and alter ego as a comedic rapper called Razzlekhan, sparked a media storm and sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley and the cryptocurrency obsessive world where they were known.

Acquaintances said the pair had done little to reveal they had been sitting atop an illicit fortune for years, while posing as fairly typical Silicon Valley activists. But prosecutors said the couple slowly tried to launder the stolen money, while preparing the ground to flee to Russia if necessary.

Lichtenstein has been held without bond since his arrest. Morgan was released on $3 million bail and placed on house arrest.

Court documents had indicated that the defendants had been engaged in plea bargains with prosecutors for much of the past year.

A court filing late last year revealed the investigation involved classified national security information and documents, which required the couple’s lawyers to be given security clearances to review.

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