• Bitfinex Bitcoin Laundering Case Lands 'Crocodile Of Wall Street' In Jail

    Source: Buzz FX / 19 Nov 2024 02:10:14   America/Chicago


    Rapper Heather Morgan, known as the ‘Crocodile of Wall Street’, is set to serve 18 months in prison for conspiring with her hacker husband to launder billions of dollars of stolen Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC).





    What Happened: Morgan, 34, was sentenced on Monday in a federal court in Washington for her role in the sensational cyberattack on cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016, according to a report by Bloomberg. Her spouse and hack mastermind, Ilya Lichtenstein, has already been awarded a five-year sentence.





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    Morgan became a well-known figure in Twitter's (now X) high-finance community for posting obscure rap videos under the moniker “The Crocodile of Wall Street.”





    Why It Matters: Morgan and Lichtenstein were charged by the Justice Department in February 2022 in what has been described by authorities as one of the most sophisticated money-laundering operations ever encountered in the cryptocurrency space.





    The hack targeted Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex in 2016, compromising 36% of the company’s assets. About 119,754 BTCs were stolen in the attack, worth about $71 million at that time and over $11 billion today. By 2022, the couple had successfully laundered around 21% of the stolen funds, worth $14 million at 2016 prices and exceeding $1 billion in 2022.





    Authorities recovered over 96% of the stolen Bitcoin, valued at over $6 billion, thanks in part to Lichtenstein’s cooperation following his arrest in 2022.





    Last year, the couple pleaded guilty to charges. Morgan, who was not part of the original hack, was enlisted by Lichtenstein to launder the stolen digital currency.





    Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $91,943.90, up 0.84% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro.





    Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock.com





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