{"id":25845,"date":"2023-08-03T18:32:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T22:32:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=25845"},"modified":"2023-08-03T18:32:22","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T22:32:22","slug":"razzlekhan-and-husband-guilty-of-4-5bn-bitcoin-launder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2023\/08\/03\/razzlekhan-and-husband-guilty-of-4-5bn-bitcoin-launder\/","title":{"rendered":"Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A husband and wife cyber-crime team have pleaded guilty to trying to launder $4.5bn (\u00a33.5bn) of Bitcoin that he had stolen in a hack in 2016.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein were arrested last year in New York after police traced their riches back to the crypto heist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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While evading police, Morgan masqueraded as a rapper and tech entrepreneur.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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As part of a plea deal, Lichtenstein admitted he was behind the hack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The couple both pleaded guilty to money laundering, but Morgan pleaded guilty to an additional count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In spite of attempting to cover up her crimes, Morgan published dozens of expletive-filled music videos and rap songs filmed in locations around New York, under the name Razzlekhan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In her lyrics she called herself a “bad-ass money maker” and “the crocodile of Wall Street”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Ilya<\/picture><\/span><\/div>
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Ilya Lichtenstein kept meticulous records of how the couple were laundering the stolen Bitcoin<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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In articles published in Forbes, Morgan also claimed to be a successful tech businesswoman, calling herself an “economist, serial entrepreneur, software investor and rapper”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But while developing her rapping and tech persona, she and her computer programmer husband were attempting to cash out their fortune stolen from the crypto firm Bitfinex.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The couple now face prison sentences with Lichtenstein in line for a possible maximum 20 years in prison and Morgan a possible 10.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At the time\u00a0of their arrest in February 2022,<\/a>\u00a0the stash of 119,000 Bitcoins was worth about $4.5bn – making it the US Department of Justice’s largest single financial seizure in its history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When the hack was carried out, the Bitcoins were worth about $71m.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Heather<\/picture><\/span><\/div>
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Heather Morgan was a regular contributor to Forbes magazine as a tech entrepreneur<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Court documents showed in detail how the couple cashed out millions of dollars of the Bitfinex Bitcoins into traditional money using sophisticated techniques to try to stay under the radar.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Records show the couple:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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