(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File) Heather Morgan , the rapper formerly known as Razzlekhan and self-styled "Crocodile of Wall Street," was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday, November 18, for her role in laundering billions of dollars worth of stolen Bitcoin. This sentence comes just days after her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein , received a five-year prison term for the 2016 hack of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange. The couple, often referred to as the " Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde ," were arrested in February 2022 at their luxury New York City apartment.
At the time, the stolen Bitcoin was valued at $71 million. However, due to the significant rise in cryptocurrency prices, the stolen funds are now estimated to be worth over $10 billion. How "Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde" operated Morgan and Lichtenstein devised an intricate scheme to launder the stolen cryptocurrency using fictitious identities and small, incremental transactions to avoid detection.
While Lichtenstein initially claimed that Morgan was unaware of the hack, both eventually pleaded guilty to their involvement. In a bid to secure reduced sentences, Lichtenstein agreed to cooperate with authorities in other cryptocurrency theft cases. He expressed remorse for his actions, blaming himself for involving his wife and hoping to use his expertise to combat cybercrime upon his release.
Despite Morgan's lesser role in the scheme, her involvement in laundering the stolen funds led to her prison sentence. The case serves .
