Crypto heist couple Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan — who were charged with laundering $4.5 billion in hacked Bitcoin in 2016 — are reportedly preparing to plead guilty ahead of their next scheduled court appearance on Aug. 3.
The so-called “Bitcoin Bonnie & Clyde” have been newly charged in the case with a document known as an information, which lays out criminal charges and is similar to an indictment, but which doesn’t require a grand jury’s vote, a Washington, D.C., federal court document filed Friday showed.
Federal prosecutors have been known to use the special documents when defendants agree to plead guilty.
Russian-born Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife Morgan, 32, previously pleaded not guilty in a February 2022 case that charged them of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud in the United States.
The pair were arrested at their Manhattan apartment earlier that month for allegedly attempting to launder an astounding $4.5 billion in cryptocurrency that had been stolen from Hong Kong’s Bitfinex, one of the world’s largest virtual cryptocurrency exchanges, in 2016.
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Federal authorities accused the couple of trying to launder 119,754 bitcoin. At the time of the theft, the crypto amounted to about $70 million.
However, at the time of their arrest, the price inflated into the billions. Today, 119,754 bitcoin is worth nearly $3.6 billion.
Lichtenstein — a Russian emigre known as “Dutch” — was not granted bail, and has been in a Washington, D.C., jail since his arrest after being billed a flight risk.
Morgan — better known as the questionably talented rapper “Razzlekhan” who shares songs about being “the crocodile of Wall Street” — is free on a $3 million bond pending the outcome of negotiations.
The nature of the charges stated in the document are confidential, though the court docket showed that District of Columbia Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the couple’s defense to provide plea paperwork by Friday.
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Judge Kollar-Kotelly said the defendants’ paperwork must include “charged offense(s) and statutory provision; charge(s) in plea and statutory provision; elements of the offense; copy of the plea agreement; penalties; and [federal sentencing] guideline calculations,” according to the docket.
The Post has reached out to Lichtenstein’s counsel at Cahill Gordon & Reindell, as well as Morgan’s legal team at Burnham & Gorokhov.
If found guilty, Lichtenstein and Morgan could face up to 25 years years behind bars. It’s unclear how a plea deal could affect their sentence.
Morgan has been spending her 24-hour house arrest holed up in the rented Wall Street high-rise she once shared with her husband.
The downtime had Morgan looking for remote work. In September, she tweeted saying: “Looking for remote B2B growth /marketing /sales /copywriting /demand gen work. Can be contract or potentially full-time. Have 10 years experience, including remotely managing distributed teams.”
She also asked that only “serious opportunities with B2B (tech) companies” reach out.
The post came before a judge granted Morgan’s request to amend the terms of her home confinement.
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In January, US Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui ruled that she could work from her employer’s New York office three days per week, from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Faruqui also granted Morgan permission to use a computer and a smartphone — with monitoring software installed on both — in order to work from home, though she remained barred from carrying out any cryptocurrency transactions.
Morgan’s tweet appeared to have worked, as her lawyer, Eugene Gorokhov, said in a court filing that she was “in the role of growth marketing and business development specialist.” Her employer’s identity was kept confidential for safety reasons.
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Aside from the tweet on Morgan’s job hunt, she’s been quiet on all social media fronts, even halting her YouTube videos where she shared rap songs, ironically, about her being a hacking nerd.
On Instagram, the last post shared to Razzlekhan’s account was on Feb. 7, 2022, where Morgan recorded herself complaining that she feels like “a tortured dog going to the vet” when she goes to the nail salon.
Cryptocurrency markets are trading higher, with Bitcoin hovering around $100,000 and Jim Cramer suggesting it is “a winner.”
Cryptocurrency
Price
Gains +/-
Bitcoin BTC/USD
$99,254.71
+0.88%
EthereumETH/USD
$3,281.28
-2.1%
SolanaSOL/USD
$253.09
-0.8%
Dogecoin DOGE/USD
$0.3987
+3.7%
Shiba InuSHIB/USD
$0.00002463
+0.3%
Notable Statistics:
IntoTheBlock data shows large transaction volume increasing by 47.5% and daily active addresses growing by 27.2%. Transactions greater than $100,000 are up from 13,321 to 18,859 in a single day. Exchanges netflows are down by 4.5%.
Coinglass data reports 113,608 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours for $340.73 million. Open interest continues to stand at peak levels, $64 billion.
Polymarket data shows there is a 60% chance of Bitcoin touching $100,000 today and an 89% probability of it happening this month.
Notable Developments:
Top Gainers:
Cryptocurrency
Price
Gains +/-
StellarXLM/USD
$0.3194
+28.2%
XRPXRP/USD
$1.42
+20.6%
CardanoADA/USD
$0.9647
+19.9%
Trader Notes: Bitcoin nearing $100,000 sparked mixed sentiments among traders.
Altcoin Sherpa quipped “See you guys at $60,000” when Bitcoin failed to break through the psychological barrier.
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Crypto trader Seth highlights a “thick and sticky sell wall” as the obstacle.
Dogecoin founder Billy Markus stated, “maybe bitcoin will become a $99,000 stablecoin.”
Quinten Francois remains optimistic, stating the Bitcoin bull market has “just started.”
Daan Crypto Trades explained that traders are preemptively shifting from altcoins to Bitcoin as it edges closer to the $100,000 milestone.
He predicts a breakout, followed by consolidation could lead to altcoin rebounds. Until then, Bitcoin is expected to continue absorbing liquidity.
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Image: Shutterstock
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
DogecoinDOGE/USD and Shiba InuSHIB/USD are trading around 3% higher in a single day boosted by the optimism in the cryptocurrency market.
Cryptocurrency
Price
Market Cap
24-Hour Trend
7-Day Trend
Dogecoin
$0.3923
$57.6 Billion
+2.8%
+5.3%
Shiba Inu
$0.00002496
$14.7 Billion
+4.2%
+3.1%
Trader Notes: Analysts see bullish potential for the top two meme coins.
Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez predicts a potential rally for Shiba Inu, suggesting SHIB could hit $0.00049 if it mirrors DOGE’s pattern.
Trader Javon Marks highlights SHIB’s daily chart with a possible bull pattern confirmation. A breakout target of $0.000081—216% above current levels—could see SHIB surge more than 200%.
For Dogecoin, Altcoin Sherpa notes the recent correction as not bearish, seeing opportunities for buyers with another leg up expected soon.
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Crypto Amsterdam observes DOGE hovering in a mid-range phase, suggesting $1 could be on the horizon.
Meanwhile, trader Kevin forecasts a DOGE breakout by Saturday.
Statistics: IntoTheBlock Data shows:
Large transaction volume increasing for DOGE (+41.1%) and SHIB (+44.9%).
Daily active addresses rising by 34.9% for DOGE and 10.7% for SHIB.
SHIB transactions above $100,000 up from 332 to 399 in one day.
Shibarium Activity: Daily transactions climbed from 4.66 million on Nov. 20 to 4.75 million on Nov. 21.
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Image: Shutterstock
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World’s popular digital currency rises as high as $99,073 on expectations Trump will ease legal and regulatory hurdles.
Bitcoin is nearing the $100,000 mark as crypto enthusiasts bet that United States President-elect Donald Trump will usher in a more welcoming regulatory environment for digital assets.
The world’s most popular digital currency rose as high as $99,073 on Thursday, extending its surge since Trump’s re-election on November 5.
The commodity has risen more than 60 percent since election day as investors anticipate Trump’s incoming administration to ease regulatory and legal hurdles to its use.
Trump, who called the asset a “scam” during his first term, accepted campaign donations in cryptocurrency, and has pledged to make the US “the crypto capital of the planet” and accumulate a national bitcoin reserve.
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Trump and his three sons in September also announced the launch of their own crypto business, World Liberty Financial, which investors have taken as a promising sign of the president-elect’s belief in the sector.
In another bullish signal for the sector on Thursday, United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, Gary Gensler, who was widely disliked among crypto investors for his aggressive enforcement actions targeting the sector, confirmed that he would step down in January.
Trump had pledged to fire Gensler on “day one” of his administration, though the president does not have the authority to remove the SEC chair before the end of his or her term.
While viewed by supporters as a ticket to big returns and financial freedom, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are known for their volatility and have faced government crackdowns in several parts of the world.
After climbing to a record high of $69,000 in late 2021, Bitcoin plunged to less than $16,000 over the following year.
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The commodity burst past its previous peak in March after gaining more than 300 percent since November 2022.