Bitfinex hacker sentenced to five years in prison for bitcoin money laundering scheme

A man whose 2016 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex drained nearly 120,000 bitcoin was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for a money laundering scheme he and his wife employed to hide the swiped crypto.

The value of that bitcoin stolen by Ilya Lichtenstein was just $70 million when he executed the cyberattack on Bitfinex.

That crypto is currently worth $10.5 billion due to bitcoin’s rise in price since 2016.

Lichtenstein, 35, and his wife, Heather Rhiannon Morgan, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in federal court in Washington, D.C., in August 2023, about 18 months after their arrest.

Lichtenstein first publicly admitted that he had been the hacker of Bitfinex at that plea hearing.

He had faced a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison before his sentencing on Thursday.

He will get credit for the 29 months he has served in custody. And with credit for good behavior, which is standard in the federal penal system, Lichtenstein could be released from prison in less than two years.

Morgan is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in Washington.

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