US hacker sentenced to five years in the slammer for laundering the proceeds of nearly 120,000 stolen bitcoin worth $10,800,000,000 at today's prices

A hand holds a bitcoin over the US flag draped over a slate board.
(Image credit: Boris Zhitkov / SimpleImages)

Cyber heists have lost some of the romance of the old-fashioned kind, haven't they? Give me a stripey sweater and a swag bag any day of the week.

Still, they appear to be far more lucrative than your old-fashioned Dog Day Afternoon histrionics, as a US hacker has just been sentenced to five years hard time for his role in the theft of 120,000 bitcoin, which would equate to just under $10.8 billion's worth of the cryptocash today.

Ilya Lichtenstein pled guilty to money laundering charges brought against him for the 2016 Bitfinex cryptocurrency hack, in which nearly 120,000 of precious Bitcoin was swiped off the exchange over the course of more than 2,000 fraudulent transactions (via BBC News). Lichtenstein is said to have enlisted the help of his wife, Heather Morgan, to launder the ill-gotten gains using a variety of methods, but both were apprehended in 2022.

The couple utilised a complicated network of fictitious online accounts, automated transactions, and dark web marketplaces to convert the cryptohaul into what they hoped would be untraceable funds, including exchanging a portion of them for gold coins.

Morgan herself seems to have been less than discrete about her ballooning income, as she posted multiple hip hop videos under the alias Razzlekhan, calling herself "the infamous crocodile of Wall Street" who's "more fearless and shameless than ever before."

Morgan is currently out on bail and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18.

At the time of the theft, 120,000 bitcoin would have been worth around $71 billion, but thanks to the, err, unpredictable nature of the crypto market, it was worth more than $4.5 billion at the time of the couple's arrest. That figure has ballooned since the most recent Bitcoin price surge, and at the time of writing would be worth approximately 10.8 billion dollars.

That may have changed by tomorrow, or indeed in the next five minutes. Crypto be crazy, y'all.

Quite the lucrative haul then, and they would have gotten away with it too if it wasn't for that meddling, err, US government. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said at the time of the arrests that the financial seizure was the biggest in the history of the US Department of Justice.

It just goes to show, crime doesn't pay. Or rather it might, briefly, before the full weight of the DOJ comes tumbling down on your heads and your wife's hip hop career starts going viral for boasting about your financial prowess. There's probably a lesson to be learned here, but I'll be darned if I can find it.

Best gaming PCBest gaming laptop


Best gaming PC: The top pre-built machines.
Best gaming laptop: Great devices for mobile gaming.

Andy Edser
Hardware Writer

Andy built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 12, when IDE cables were a thing and high resolution wasn't—and he hasn't stopped since. Now working as a hardware writer for PC Gamer, Andy's been jumping around the world attending product launches and trade shows, all the while reviewing every bit of PC hardware he can get his hands on. You name it, if it's interesting hardware he'll write words about it, with opinions and everything.

Read more
 In this photo illustration a novelty Bitcoin token is photographed on a US Dollar bank note, on January 4, 2025 in Bath, England. The Cryptocurrency market has recently received a significant boost by the election of Donald Trump with hopes of the start of a policy framework that could see Bitcoin as a strategic asset
Man charged with $65,000,000 worth of cryptocurrency heists was reportedly discovered through chatting on Discord with a company they allegedly stole from
Hacker
$1.5 billion crypto heist could be the biggest yet, more than doubling the previous record, but don't worry: The affected firm says it can take the hit
An image of a fake Bitcoin with a laptop in the background displaying financial data
North Korean hackers are said to have stolen $1,300,000,000 in crypto in 2024, an estimated 61% of the total funds swiped this year
Fuck you bitcoin
Man on hopeless quest to recover $600 million of Bitcoin from landfill is finally told by the High Court to quit it, says he's 'very upset'
Landfill
Man who chucked $750 million of bitcoin into a dump now wants to buy the whole dump
FBI 10 Most Wanted poster.
The FBI put a $5 million bounty on the 'Cryptoqueen' last year but still hasn't found her, so take your pick: Russia, South Africa, or murdered on a yacht in 2018
Latest in Hardware
Microsoft Majorana 1 quantum processor
'This is essentially a fraudulent project': Some scientists are firing shots at Microsoft's recent quantum computing claims
The OBSBot Tiny 2 Lite on a blue background
My favourite 4K webcam spins on a gimbal to track your face, and it's now at its lowest ever price at Amazon
Audio-Technica ATH-R50X headphones
Audio-Technica ATH R50X review
XFX Radeon RX 9070 XT Quicksilver graphics card on a blue background with angel wings on either side
XFX is letting you add customisable 3D printed wings to its Quicksilver RX 9070-series graphics cards
Gigabyte G6X gaming laptop
More affordable sub-$1,000 RTX 50-series laptops likely coming in May as RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 models spotted online
 photo shows a factory tool that places lids on data center system-on-chips at an Intel fab in Chandler, Arizona, in December 2023. In February 2024, Intel Corporation launched Intel Foundry as the world’s first systems foundry for the AI era, delivering leadership in technology, resiliency and sustainability.
So, wait, now TSMC is supposedly pitching a joint venture with Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom to run Intel's ailing chip fabs?
Latest in News
Alma, the handler from Monster Hunter Wilds, closes her eyes and looks a little disappointed.
This impractical method of getting a 1-second capture time in Monster Hunter Wilds can make you the fastest hunter alive—on paper
Yoda Luke and R2 in Lego form.
Lego is going to make its videogames in-house from now on, says it would 'almost rather overinvest'
Microsoft Majorana 1 quantum processor
'This is essentially a fraudulent project': Some scientists are firing shots at Microsoft's recent quantum computing claims
Devil May Cry Netflix screenshots
We've just got a first look at Vergil in Netflix's upcoming Devil May Cry series alongside another key character from Devil May Cry 3
The OBSBot Tiny 2 Lite on a blue background
My favourite 4K webcam spins on a gimbal to track your face, and it's now at its lowest ever price at Amazon
GTA 5 characters
GTA 5 publisher takes legal aim at account-selling site for allegedly raking in 'millions in revenue', while recruiting hackers to keep its cogs turning