US hacker gets five years for laundering proceeds of nearly 120,000 stolen Bitcoins worth $10,800,000,000 today

Cyber heists are no longer as romantic as the old-fashioned ones, have they? Give me a stripey sweatshirt and a swagbag any day of the year.

Even so, they seem to be more lucrative than the old Dog Day Afternoon antics. A US hacker was just sentenced to five hard years for his role in stealing 120,000 bitcoins, which is equivalent to just under $10,8 billion of cryptocash.

Ilya Lichtenstein has pleaded guilty to money-laundering charges brought against him in connection with the 2016 Bitfinex cryptocurrency attack, which saw nearly 120,000 Bitcoins stolen from the exchange through more than 2,000 fraudulent transaction (via BBC News). Heather Morgan is said to be the one who helped Lichtenstein launder the ill gotten gains. However, both were arrested in 2022.

The couple used a complex network of fictitious accounts, automated transactions and dark web markets to convert the cryptohaul in what they hoped were untraceable funds. They even exchanged a portion for gold coins.

Morgan has been less than discreet about her soaring income. She posted several hip-hop videos under the alias Razzlekhan. She calls herself "the infamous Crocodile of Wall Street," who is "more fearless, and shameless, than ever before."

Morgan is currently on bail, and his sentencing is scheduled for November 18.

The couple were arrested with 120,000 bitcoins, which at the time would have been worth $71 billion. However, due to the unpredictable nature of the crypto market it was worth over $4.5 billion. This figure has risen dramatically since the recent Bitcoin price surge. At the time of writing, it would be worth around 10.8 billion dollars.

It could change tomorrow or even in the next 5 minutes. Crypto be crazy y'all.

The haul was quite lucrative, and they probably would have gotten off with it if not for the US government's interference. At the time of arrests, Deputy Attorney-General Lisa Monaco stated that the financial seizure had been the largest in the history of US Department of Justice.

Just goes to show that crime doesn't work. Or, it might briefly, until the full weight and force of the DOJ falls on your head, and your wife's hip-hop career goes viral for bragging about your financial prowess. I'm sure there's a lesson here, but I won't be able to find it.