Heather Morgan, also known in the media as the rapper “Razzlekhan,” faces a request from U.S. prosecutors for an 18-month prison sentence for her involvement in laundering 120,000 Bitcoin taken in the 2016 Bitfinex hack. In a recent court filing dated October 9, federal prosecutors recommended a more lenient sentence due to her cooperation with authorities during the plea agreement she entered into with her husband, Ilya Lichtenshtein, in July 2023. They contended that Morgan’s role was minor compared to Lichtenshtein’s and emphasized that she had utilized only a small portion of the stolen assets.
Morgan pled guilty in August 2023 to charges of money laundering and fraud related to the Bitcoin , which is currently valued at approximately $7.2 billion. While she could face a maximum of 10 years behind bars, prosecutors are urging the court to consider her lesser involvement. Initially, Morgan and Lichtenshtein were thought only to have laundered the proceeds from the cyber heist, but Lichtenshtein later admitted to having executed the hack himself and also pled guilty to money laundering.
Prosecutors indicated that Morgan was unaware of the source of the stolen Bitcoin at first but became complicit when Lichtenshtein disclosed his role in the hack in early 2020. Her actions included aiding in the laundering process and collaborating to hide his involvement. Authorities asserted that Morgan actively participated in criminal activities, working with her husband to conceal the illegally obtained wealth over several years.
Additionally, prosecutors detailed the sophisticated techniques employed by the couple to launder the stolen Bitcoin , which included using non-compliant exchanges and dark web avenues to mask their financial activities. Morgan reportedly also converted some of the funds into physical gold , which she buried in a location now known to law enforcement. Apart from the 18-month sentence, prosecutors are asking the court to mandate that she return the seized crypto assets from the Bitfinex hack, which include approximately 95,000 Bitcoin and various other cryptocurrencies, totaling over $6 billion in value. Morgan’s sentencing hearing is set for November 15, following Lichtenshtein’s on November 14.
