Cryptocurrency heist couple Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan – who were accused of laundering $4.5 billion in hacked Bitcoin in 2016 – are reportedly preparing to plead guilty ahead of their next court hearing, scheduled for August 3.
The so-called “Bitcoin Bonnie & Clyde” were recently indicted on this case over a document referred to as information that lays out criminal charges and is analogous to an indictment but that doesn’t require a grand jury vote, a document from a Washington federal court filed Friday.
Federal prosecutors are known to use 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 by which they were charged with money laundering and conspiracy to defraud in america.
The couple were arrested of their Manhattan apartment earlier this month for allegedly attempting to launder an astonishing $4.5 billion in cryptocurrency that was stolen from Hong Kong’s Bitfinex, considered one of the world’s largest virtual cryptocurrency exchanges, in 2016.
![New court records indicate that Ilya Lichtenstein (right) and Heather Morgan (left), who were accused of laundering $4.5 billion in hacked bitcoin in 2016, appear to be preparing to plead guilty.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014433917.jpg?w=1024)
Federal authorities accused the couple of trying to launder 119,754 bitcoins. On the time of the theft, the worth of the cryptocurrency was roughly $70 million.
Nevertheless, on the time of their arrest, the worth rose to billions. Today, 119,754 bitcoins are price nearly $3.6 billion.
Liechtenstein – a Russian expatriate referred to as “Dutchman” – has not been released on bail and has been in a Washington prison since being arrested after being charged with flight risk.
Morgan – higher referred to as the questionably talented rapper “Razzlekhan”, who shares songs about being a “Wall Street crocodile” – is free on $3 million bail pending negotiations.
The character of the allegations made within the document is confidential, although court records showed that District of Columbia Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered the couple’s defense to provide documentation of the allegations by Friday.
Judge Kollar-Kotelly said defendants’ papers must include “the alleged offence(s) and statutory provisions; the charge(s) within the charge and statutory provisions; elements of crime; a replica of the settlement; penalties; AND [federal sentencing] calculation guidelines”, according to the act.
![Russian-born Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife Morgan, 32, previously pleaded not guilty in a February 2022 case in which they were charged with money laundering and conspiracy to defraud in the United States.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014433914.jpg?w=1024)
The Post contacted Lichtenstein’s lawyer at Cahill Gordon & Reindell, in addition to Morgan’s legal team at Burnham & Gorokhov.
If found guilty, Liechtenstein and Morgan face up to 25 years behind bars. It isn’t clear how the settlement might affect their sentencing.
Morgan spends 24 hours under house arrest in a rented Wall Street skyscraper she once shared along with her husband.
The downtime caused Morgan to search for distant work. In September she tweeted saying “I’m searching for a distant job in B2B development/marketing/sales/copywriting/demand. Could possibly be a contract of employment or potentially full time. You could have 10 years of experience, including managing distributed teams remotely.”
![Morgan - the rapper known as Razzlekhan - has been released on $3 million bail, while Russian expatriate Lichtenstein has been in a Washington prison since February last year.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000014433907.jpg?w=1024)
She also asked that only “serious opportunities with B2B (technology) corporations” be contacted.
The post got here before a judge granted Morgan’s request to change the terms of her house arrest.
In January, Justice of the Peace Zia M. Faruqui ruled that she could work in her employer’s Latest York office three days per week, from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Faruqui also gave Morgan permission to use her computer and smartphone – with monitoring software installed on each – to make money working from home, although she was still not allowed to conduct any cryptocurrency transactions.
Morgan’s tweet appears to have worked, as her lawyer, Eugene Gorokhov, told the court that she “acted as a growth and business development marketing specialist.” Her employer’s identity was kept secret for security reasons.
Except for a tweet about Morgan searching for a job, she has been silent on all social media fronts, even pausing her YouTube videos sharing rap songs paradoxically about being a hacker nerd.
On Instagram, the last post shared on Razzlekhan’s account was on February 7, 2022, where Morgan recorded her grievance that she felt like a “tortured dog going to the vet” when she went to a nail salon.