Crypto Hacker Ilya Lichtenstein Credits Trump’s First Step Act for Early Prison Release
Ilya Lichtenstein pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack and was sentenced to five years in prison in November 2024. However, he was released after serving only 14 months due to the First Step Act, a 2018 prison and sentencing reform bill. Lichtenstein expressed gratitude for the First Step Act in a post on X and stated he remains committed to cybersecurity.
The 2016 Bitfinex hack saw 119,754 BTC stolen, valued at about $71 million at the time, with current prices exceeding $10 billion. Authorities have recovered approximately 94,000 BTC, leaving about 25,000 BTC still missing. In January 2025, prosecutors filed a motion to return the recovered BTC to Bitfinex. Lichtenstein revealed that he converted around 25,000 BTC into other cryptocurrencies and physical gold coins. Most of the gold was reportedly recovered by authorities according to a TRM report.
Lichtenstein's wife, Heather Morgan, also known as Razzlekhan, received an 18-month sentence and was released in October after serving about eight months. Trump’s crypto-related clemency actions, which included pardons for Ross Ulbricht, Arthur Hayes, three BitMEX cofounders convicted of Bank Secrecy Act violations, and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao between January and October, drew criticism. Notably, Lichtenstein was not pardoned by Trump.
