Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein Sentenced to Five Years

Ilya "Dutch" Lichtenstein has been sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in the 2016 hack of the crypto exchange Bitfinex and subsequent money laundering, as reported by Bloomberg on Thursday.

Lichtenstein received the five-year sentence that prosecutors recommended. He had been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States, facing maximum sentences of 20 years and five years, respectively. Prosecutors argued that Lichtenstein's sentence should be reduced due to his cooperation during the investigation, including his testimony in the Bitcoin Fog case, as previously reported by The Block.

Lichtenstein's wife and co-conspirator, Heather Morgan, known by her rap alias Razzlekahn, is awaiting sentencing on Nov. 18. She played a smaller role in the money laundering conspiracy, leading prosecutors to propose an 18-month sentence for her.

In 2016, Lichtenstein allegedly hacked into the Bitfinex exchange and stole around 120,000 bitcoin, worth $72 million at the time and $10.7 billion today. He and Morgan supposedly laundered the funds using tactics such as crypto mixers, layered transactions, and darknet markets, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. These assets represent the U.S. government's largest seizure to date.

In August 2023, Lichtenstein and Morgan pleaded guilty to charges related to money laundering concerning the Bitfinex hack.