Bitfinex Hacker Faces Five Years In Jail For Bitcoin Theft
Please note that we are not authorised to provide any investment advice. The content on this page is for information purposes only.
Ilya Lichtenstein, a hacker who stole huge amounts of Bitcoin from Bitfinex, has been sentenced to five years in prison. He was part of one of the biggest Bitcoin thefts in history. He and his wife, Heather Morgan, were caught in February 2022, years after they stole from Bitfinex in 2016.
The judge in Washington, D.C., Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, decided on Lichtenstein’s sentence after he admitted to his crime. He pleaded guilty to trying to hide the stolen Bitcoin.
In the courtroom, Judge Kollar-Kotelly shared that Lichtenstein stole 119,754 Bitcoins from Bitfinex in 2016. Back then, it was worth around $71 million. Now, Bitcoin’s value has risen, and that amount is worth billions of dollars.
Bitfinex Accuses Lichtenstein Of Completing Illegal 2,000 Bitcoin Transfers
According to the update, Lichtenstein, who called himself a “computer expert,” used clever hacking tricks to break into Bitfinex’s system. He moved the Bitcoin in more than 2,000 transfers without Bitfinex knowing.
The judge reduced Lichtenstein’s prison time because he helped with other investigations. He worked with law enforcement on different cases, which helped him get a shorter sentence. He could have received up to 20 years but got five years instead.
Heather Morgan, Lichtenstein’s wife and partner in the crime, will face her sentencing on November 18. The court is asking for a shorter sentence of 18 months for Morgan because she played a smaller part in hiding the stolen Bitcoin.
After the hack, Lichtenstein and Morgan tried many ways to hide the Bitcoin, according to the report. They moved small amounts from one account to another and even used fake names and different wallets. The court revealed that the couple went on the Darknet, a hidden part of the internet, to keep the stolen Bitcoin hidden.
The United States Department Of Justice Solved The 2016 Bitcoin Theft Case In 2022
In 2022, the United States Department of Justice cracked the 2016 Bitcoin case after many clues. The department discovered that Lichtenstein and Morgan stole the Bitcoin. According to the update, the couple was linked to thousands of Bitcoin transfers, which helped solve the theft.
Authorities are still working hard to stop crypto crimes. In another case, police in Delhi recently arrested a suspect in a different Bitcoin hack. This suspect was involved in the $230 million WazirX hack, where he used a fake WazirX account to take funds.
The Bitfinex case shows how difficult it is to catch hackers in the crypto world. Law enforcement is learning new ways to track down stolen digital money. This case, and others like it, show that even with challenges, officials are committed to protecting people in the world of cryptocurrency.
