The notorious crypto couple accused of attempting to launder billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC) from the massive 2016 Bitfinex hack appears to have reached a plea agreement.
Court records indicate Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan reached a plea deal with prosecutors this week, though the agreement’s details are not yet public at time of writing.
According to a federal court docket entry, the duo’s case is closed, suggesting that they have already reached an agreement with the prosecutors.
The husband and wife have a plea hearing scheduled for August 3rd, according to CNBC.
The couple allegedly attempted to launder Bitcoin that was stolen from Bitfinex after a hacker breached the exchange’s systems and then sent the stolen crypto to a wallet under Lichtenstein’s control.
After allegedly getting hold of the stolen Bitcoin, the feds say that Lichtenstein and Morgan used a series of complex strategies to try and obfuscate their digital paper trail, including sending the crypto to darknet markets, utilizing fake identities and using US-based business accounts to legitimize their banking activity.
In February 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice seized 119,754 BTC worth a staggering $3.6 billion at the time from Lichtenstein and Morgan.
Morgan is a former Forbes columnist and chief executive of a copywriting firm. She’s also a YouTube rapper known as “Razzlekhan” and she also goes by the nicknames “the Versace Bedouin” and “the Crocodile of Wall Street.”
A television limited series about the couple titled “Razzlekhan: The Infamous Crocodile of Wall Street” is reportedly in development at Hulu.
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