United States v. Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan

In August 2016, defendant Ilya Lichtenstein hacked into a virtual currency exchange named Bitfinex and stole approximately 120,000 bitcoin. Following the theft, Defendant Lichtenstein devised a sophisticated plan to launder the stolen funds, involving extensive layering of transactions, cryptocurrency mixers and non-compliant cryptocurrency exchanges, darknet markets, and bank accounts in the U.S., as well as overseas. Defendant Lichtenstein enlisted the assistance of his wife, co-defendant Heather Rhiannon Morgan, to clean the money. Defendant Lichtenstein and Defendant Morgan continued to conspire to launder the funds until February 2022, when federal law enforcement placed them under arrest for being involved in a money laundering conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), and a conspiracy to defraud the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.