$4B Bitcoin Hacker Freed Early Under Trump’s Prison Reform Law
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Ilya Lichtenstein, a hacker who targeted crypto exchange Bitfinex and stole nearly 120,000 Bitcoin, recently said that he has been freed from prison early.
In a post on X published on January 2, he said, “Thanks to President Trump’s First Step Act, I have been released from prison early.”
This is the Act that Trump signed in December 2018, during his first term. The legislation’s purpose was to reduce the size of the federal prison population through a series of reforms, including by establishing a “risk and needs assessment system,” which gives some inmates the chance of early release in home confinement.
Apart from crediting Trump for his early release, Lichtenstein added that he remains committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity moving forward.
His wife, Heather Morgan, who also pleaded guilty as part of the Bitcoin laundering scheme, celebrated her husband’s release in her own post. She called it “the best New Years present” as she gets to have her husband back home after being apart for four years.
Both Morgan And Lichtenstein Were Released Early
Lichtenstein is a Russian-US national who said he has been freed from prison early thanks to the bipartisan prison-reform law that Trump signed previously.
He was sentenced in November 2024 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge. He also admitted to the hack of crypto assets that are now valued in billions of dollars.
However, the First Step Act allowed him to be released early, and a Trump administration official said Lichtenstein has served a substantial portion of the sentence. He is now on home confinement in line with federal law and Bureau of Prisons guidelines.
His sentence also included credit for time he already served in custody after his arrest in 2022, which was more than five years after the Bitfinex hack.
Apart from the major crypto heist, Lichtenstein was also convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering and faced three years of supervised release after completing the prison term.
A search for Lichtenstein’s name using the federal government’s inmate locator website is currently showing that he is scheduled ot be released on February 9.
As for Morgan, she was sentenced to 18 months’ incarceration shortly after Lichtenstein received his prison sentence. She entered prison in February, but she posted a video on October 26, saying she had been released early. She also thanked Trump in the video for making her 18-month sentence shorter.
