8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.

5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

Menu

Tech

Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn

Bitcoin launder
5 hours ago

Heather Morgan posted highly-produced rap music videos under the moniker Razzlekhan

By Joe Tidy
Cyber correspondent

A husband and wife cyber-crime team have pleaded guilty to trying to

launder $4.5bn (£3.5bn) of Bitcoin that he had stolen in a hack in 2016.

Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein were arrested last year in New York
after police traced their riches back to the crypto heist.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 1/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

While evading police, Morgan masqueraded as a rapper and tech entrepreneur.

As part of a plea deal, Lichtenstein admitted he was behind the hack.

The couple both pleaded guilty to money laundering, but Morgan pleaded
guilty to an additional count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

In spite of attempting to cover up her crimes, Morgan published dozens of

expletive-filled music videos and rap songs filmed in locations around New
York, under the name Razzlekhan.

In her lyrics she called herself a "bad-ass money maker" and "the crocodile of
Wall Street".

Ilya Lichtenstein kept meticulous records of how the couple were laundering the stolen Bitcoin

In articles published in Forbes, Morgan also claimed to be a successful tech

businesswoman, calling herself an "economist, serial entrepreneur, software
investor and rapper".

But while developing her rapping and tech persona, she and her computer
programmer husband were attempting to cash out their fortune stolen from
the crypto firm Bitfinex.

The couple now face prison sentences with Lichtenstein in line for a possible
maximum 20 years in prison and Morgan a possible 10.

At the time of their arrest in February 2022, the stash of 119,000 Bitcoins was
worth about $4.5bn - making it the US Department of Justice's largest single
financial seizure in its history.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 2/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

When the hack was carried out, the Bitcoins were worth about $71m.

Heather Morgan was a regular contributor to Forbes magazine as a tech entrepreneur

Court documents showed in detail how the couple cashed out millions of
dollars of the Bitfinex Bitcoins into traditional money using sophisticated
techniques to try to stay under the radar.

Records show the couple:

Split up the Bitcoin into tiny amounts and transferred it to thousands of

different crypto wallets with fake identities

Mixed their stolen funds with other criminal cryptocurrency on the darknet
marketplace Alphabay

Purchased gold coins

Set up shell companies to make the Bitcoin funds look legitimate

The successful police operation is the latest case to utilise tools able to
analyse transactions on Bitcoin's public blockchain ledger.

One of the couple's key mistakes was shopping with Walmart supermarket
vouchers paid for with the stolen funds.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 3/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

Police used advanced techniques to track the stolen Bitcoin across the public records of transactions

"Police were able to link the Walmart gift cards back to some of the proceeds
of the Bitfinex hack, which then opened up the further investigation," said
Jonathan Levin, founder of cryptocurrency investigators Chainalysis which was
involved in the investigation.

"Buying gift cards and moving between different exchanges and different
cryptocurrency never actually created this sort of break in provenance that the
couple intended," he said.

Four jailed for £21m cryptocurrency fraud

US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Stolen $3bn Bitcoin mystery ends with popcorn tin

When police raided the couple's Manhattan apartment, they found hollowed-
out books created to conceal mobile phones.

They also discovered dozens of burner handsets, several USB sticks and
$40,000 in cash.

US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Police say the couple tried to hide burner phones in their apartment

Police successfully decrypted a spreadsheet meticulously detailing the

couple's intricate methods for laundering the stash, allowing them to recover
nearly the full amount.

In court documents, prosecutors say they uncovered communication records

that indicate Morgan and Lichtenstein were planning to flee the US for Russia
- his country of birth.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 4/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

If successful, they would have probably lived a billionaire lifestyle, safe from
arrest by the US.

When the hack happened, Bitfinex customers took an enforced "haircut",

losing 36% of their assets held by the crypto exchange. By 2019, the company
had reimbursed the victims, so now the Hong Kong-based firm and some
customers who exchanged their losses for shares are in line for a windfall once
the recovered Bitcoins are returned.

Related Topics

Computer hacking Bitcoin Cyber-security

More on this story

Record-high seizure of $4bn in stolen Bitcoin

9 February 2022

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 5/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

Bitcoin users 'must pay' for lost coins

8 August 2016

Top Stories

Trump pleads not guilty to 2020 election charges

1 hour ago

Trump's day in court... in 60 seconds

1 hour ago

Navalny braces for verdict as Kremlin clamps down

41 minutes ago

Get the news that matters to you

Keep connected with your
BBC account

Sign in or Register

Features

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 6/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

Forced to wait, Trump is out of his Navalny braces for verdict as Kremlin
comfort zone clamps down

Devastating wildfires spur new Weekly quiz: How did Taylor Swift make
detection systems the earth move?

Fergal Keane: A family reunited after 18 How Heartstopper helped older fan open
months of war up on sexuality

Blackpink's Jisoo is dating. The K-pop Could Trump go to prison and other key
world is stunned questions

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 7/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

This 93-year-old went to all 63 US

national parks
Elsewhere on the BBC

How a careless slip killed a physicist A charming city with a dangerous side

Why critics are loving Barbie's Ken

Most Read

1 Trump pleads not guilty to 2020 election charges

2 Wannabe rapper guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin laundering

3 Navalny braces for verdict as Kremlin clamps down

4 Forced to wait, Trump is out of his comfort zone

5 Post Malone pays fan $2m for rare 'One Ring' card

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 8/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

6 Disaster averted as burnt car carrier reaches port

7 Kidnapped woman escaped makeshift cell, says FBI

8 Ukraine says it launched attack on bridge to Crimea

9 Lizzo says dancers' harassment claims are 'false'

10 Two US Navy sailors charged with spying for China

BBC News Services

On your mobile

On smart speakers

Get news alerts

Contact BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 9/10
8/4/23, 3:01 AM Razzlekhan and husband guilty of $4.5bn Bitcoin launder - BBC News

Home Sport Worklife Future Music Weather

News Reel Travel Culture TV Sounds

Terms of Use About the BBC Privacy Policy Cookies Accessibility Help Parental Guidance

Contact the BBC Get Personalised Newsletters Why you can trust the BBC Advertise with us

Do not share or sell my info

© 2023 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external
linking.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66390639 10/10