A US federal court has sentenced Heather Morgan to 18 months in prison for her role in laundering 119,754 BTC stolen from the Bitfinex exchange in 2016, reports CoinDesk.
Her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, who orchestrated the attack, received a five-year sentence on November 14.
The couple was arrested in February 2022, when authorities seized 94,643 BTC (approximately $3.6 billion at the time) from them.
In August 2023, both pleaded guilty to money laundering, though Lichtenstein disputed his role in the hack. He faced up to 20 years in prison, while Morgan faced up to ten.
Prosecutors recommended an 18-month sentence for Morgan, considering her cooperation with the investigation.
“I am very sorry and deeply regret the choices I made. I spent my time and energy causing harm rather than good. And I am ashamed of that,” she stated during the hearings.
The defense sought to limit her punishment to the 17 days she spent in jail after her arrest and the house arrest she has been under since.
However, the prosecution pointed out that she was “deeply involved” in the complex schemes to launder the bitcoins stolen by Lichtenstein.
Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly stated that Morgan’s actions were deliberate and planned, and she did not cease her illegal activities voluntarily before her arrest.
“The harm I caused will haunt me for the rest of my life,” the defendant expressed remorse.
Hours after the sentencing, Morgan released a video stating that she had remained silent on her lawyers’ advice.
My statement ?♀️#razzlekhan pic.twitter.com/janr9RD1Q2
— Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan (@HeatherReyhan) November 18, 2024
“It’s all over, and I am very glad that soon I will be able to tell my story, share my thoughts, and tell you more about the creativity and other ventures I have been working on,” she declared.
Before her arrest, Morgan was known as a rapper under the alias Razzlekhan, a blogger, and an active social media influencer.
In January, Amazon MGM Studios began production of a feature film about the Bitfinex hack.