Heather Morgan Sentenced to 18 Months for Laundering Funds from Bitfinex Hack: Report

Heather Morgan, extensively recognized by her rap persona “Razzlekhan,” has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for her position in laundering funds stolen throughout the 2016 Bitfinex cryptocurrency hack.

Morgan pleaded responsible to conspiracy expenses associated to cash laundering and defrauding america earlier this yr.

A Deliberate Scheme

In response to a CoinDesk report, Choose Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the U.S. District Court docket in Washington, D.C., described Morgan’s actions as calculated and intentional throughout the sentencing:

“These are critical offences,” the decide remarked. “You had been true companions on this laundering scheme … You didn’t cease voluntarily however stopped whenever you acquired arrested.”

Whereas Morgan initially claimed she was unaware of the hack, authorities argued her actions after studying about it demonstrated energetic involvement. She was accused of serving to through the use of advanced strategies to cover the origins of the stolen funds.

These included “chain hopping” by changing cryptocurrency throughout totally different blockchains, using mixing companies to anonymize transactions, depositing funds into darknet markets, and exchanging belongings for gold cash.

Morgan additionally personally buried the gold cash. A lawyer for the prosecution emphasised, “She was the one which dug the opening,” including that “She jumped into the conspiracy.”

Her husband, Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, who carried out the hack, received a five-year jail sentence final week. The theft involved practically 120,000 Bitcoin, valued at $71 million on the time and price billions in the present day.

Regret and Requires Leniency

Morgan expressed regret throughout the listening to, tearfully addressing the courtroom. “I’m extraordinarily sorry and deeply remorse the alternatives I made,” she mentioned. “The hurt I’ve prompted will hang-out me for the remainder of my life.”

Her lawyer argued that the 34-year-old’s public persona as “Razzlekhan” had subjected her to reputational hurt, calling her rap profession “a fictional character” misunderstood by the general public. He requested that her sentence be restricted to the 17 days she had already served in jail and the house confinement she has endured since 2022.

Household and pals from Dubai and Hong Kong appeared in courtroom to assist her, interesting for leniency. The decide acknowledged Morgan’s assist community however emphasised the necessity to deter comparable crimes within the crypto sector.  She additionally famous the significance of holding people accountable, significantly in an trade suffering from criminality.

Morgan will report back to jail in early 2024, the precise date of which has but to be decided. Hours after the listening to, she posted a video on-line stating she would quickly share her facet of the story, having stayed silent throughout the authorized proceedings.