Bitfinex-heist money-laundering defendants plead guilty

Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, accused of money laundering in connection with the Bitfinex exchange hack in 2016 involving billions of dollars in Bitcoin, have pleaded guilty. As the DOJ reports.

Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money; he faces up to 20 years in prison. He still denies any connection to the Bitfinex hacking.

Morgan agreed to the charges of conspiracy to launder money and to defraud the United States. In total, she faces up to 10 years.

According to court documents, Lichtenstein gained access to the Bitfinex network using ‘advanced hacking tools.’ He carried out more than 2,000 transactions, transferring 119,754 BTC from the exchange to a personal wallet. After that, the defendant deleted the access credentials and other log files.

Together with his wife, they laundered funds through a multitude of methods—from using fictitious personas and mixing services to opening business accounts and purchasing gold coins.

Some portions of the case materials remain sealed.

U.S. authorities arrested Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan in February 2022. The couple had 94,643 BTC seized from the 119,754 BTC stolen from the exchange, worth $3.6 billion at the time.

In July 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security returned a portion of the stolen funds to Bitfinex. The amount consisted of 6,917 BCH and $312,219.70 in cash.