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Bitfinex Hacker Sentenced to Five Years in Record $10.7 Billion Crypto Heist
The mastermind behind one of the most egregious cryptocurrency hacks, Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein, has been sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a 2016 hack from the Bitfinex exchange and subsequent money laundering.
According to a report from Bloomberg on Thursday, the sentence represents a milestone in what had been the biggest seizure of cryptocurrency by the U.S. government.
The sentence represents a joint recommendation of prosecutors, well below the maximum 25-year combined prison sentence Lichtenstein could have received on charges related to conspiracy to commit money laundering and defraud the United States. He received leniency due to significant cooperation with authorities, including in testifying in other cryptocurrency-related cases, like the investigation of the Bitcoin Fog.
That 2016 hack resulted in the loss of some 120,000 BTC , which at the time was valued at $72 million but today is worth a full $10.7 billion.
Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan—known in music circles as "Razzlekahn"—-conspired to launder the stolen money using sophisticated means such as crypto mixers, layered transactions and darknet markets. Morgan accepted a lesser role in the scheme and is scheduled for sentencing on Nov. 18.