Bitfinex hacker sentenced to five years in prison for bitcoin money laundering scheme

A man whose 2016 hack of Bitfinex drained nearly 120,000 bitcoin from that cryptocurrency exchange was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for a money laundering scheme that he and his wife pulled off to hide the swiped crypto.

The value of that bitcoin at the time of the Bitfinex cyberattack was just $70 million when it was stolen by Ilya Lichtenstein.

That crypto now is worth $10.5 billion due to the rise in bitcoin's price since 2016.

Lichtenstein, 35, and his wife, Heather Rhiannon Morgan, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in federal court in Washington, D.C., in August 2023, about 18 months after their arrest.

It was at that plea hearing that Lichtenstein first publicly admitted that he had been the hacker of Bitfinex.

Lichtenstein had faced a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison.

He will get credit for the 29 months he has served in custody. With credit for good behavior, which is standard in the federal penal system, Lichtenstein could be released from prison in less than two years.

Morgan is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in Washington.

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