Mastermind Behind $4.5 Billion Bitfinex Hack Walks Free with Trump Pass
Ilya Lichtenstein, one of many masterminds behind the favored $4.5 billion Bitfinex exchange hack that concerned almost 120,000 Bitcoin stolen, has been launched from jail early beneath a regulation enacted throughout President Donald Trump’s first time period.
The 35-year-old hacker thanked Trump’s First Step Act in a Friday post on X, expressing his dedication to creating a constructive influence in cybersecurity whereas wanting ahead to proving his doubters improper.
The First Step Act, signed by Trump in 2018, permits prisoners to earn early launch via rehabilitation packages and productive actions.
From Tech Entrepreneur to Federal Criminal
Lichtenstein and his spouse, Heather Morgan, had been arrested in New York in February 2022 after authorities traced their wealth to the crypto heist.
Morgan had cultivated a public persona as a profitable tech businesswoman, describing herself in Forbes articles as an “economist, serial entrepreneur, software program investor and rapper” whereas secretly serving to her pc programmer husband launder the stolen fortune from Bitfinex.
Both pleaded responsible to cash laundering, with Morgan dealing with a further conspiracy to defraud cost.
Court records reveal the couple used pretend identities and transferred crypto in small increments to evade detection, using subtle strategies to obscure the digital path of their ill-gotten property.
Cooperation Secures Lighter Sentences
Morgan’s attorneys efficiently argued for time served in a Washington, DC federal courtroom, citing harsh pretrial detention situations, together with surgical procedure restoration and contracting COVID-19.
She stayed free on private recognizance, which allowed her launch with out bail, up till her sentencing listening to final yr.
Morgan received an 18-month sentence and was launched in October 2024 after serving roughly eight months.
Their cooperation with U.S. authorities on different crypto prosecutions decreased their potential jail time from what might have been a long time behind bars for orchestrating one of many largest crypto heists in historical past.
In a video posted to X following the conclusion of their case, Morgan mentioned: “It’s over, and I’m very excited that I’ll quickly be telling my story, sharing my ideas, and telling you extra concerning the artistic and different endeavors I’ve been engaged on.”
My assertion
#razzlekhan pic.twitter.com/janr9RD1Q2
— Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan (@HeatherReyhan) November 18, 2024
Trump’s Crypto Clemency Wave Draws Political Fire
Lichtenstein’s launch comes throughout a broader sample of leniency towards crypto offenders beneath Trump’s administration.
In March 2025, Trump pardoned BitMEX co-founders Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, Samuel Reed, and worker Greg Dwyer, all of whom pleaded responsible in 2022 to Bank Secrecy Act violations for failing to implement anti-money-laundering controls at their crypto derivatives change.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao received a presidential pardon in October after pleading responsible to related violations for failing to implement an efficient anti-money laundering program at his change, the world’s largest crypto platform.
Trump has additionally expressed willingness to think about pardoning Keonne Rodriguez, CEO of privacy-focused Bitcoin pockets Samourai, who was sentenced to 5 years for cash laundering in December.
During an Oval Office occasion on December 16, Trump told reporters:
“I’ve heard about it, I’ll have a look at it. It feels like, primarily based in your query, Rodriguez. We’ll have a look at that, Pam,” addressing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was current through the session.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has intensified criticism of Trump’s pardon technique, launching a state-backed web site in December monitoring what his workplace calls Trump’s “high prison cronies.”
California Governor Newsom slams Trump’s crypto pardons, calling @binance‘s CZ and Silk Road’s Ross Ulbricht “prison cronies” in a brand new state tracker highlighting controversial pardons.#GavinNewsom #TrumpPardons https://t.co/j9Sac1g4Th
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) December 17, 2025
The web site references Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road’s founder, sentenced to life for narcotics and money-laundering conspiracy involving over $214 million in unlawful Bitcoin-facilitated drug gross sales, alongside newly launched crime information displaying continued declines throughout California’s main cities.
This collection of pardons and appeals has triggered important political backlash, framing crypto clemency as a part of a wider debate over corruption, public security, and the increasing function of digital property in American politics.
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