Rapping FinanceTok Influencer and Husband Accused of Conspiracy to Launder $4.5 Billion in Crypto

Federal authorities have arrested a DeFi investor and his finance influencer spouse for allegedly having laundered billions of {dollars} in cryptocurrency stolen from a crypto change.

The feds accuse Manhattan duo Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Morgan, 31, of utilizing a “labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions” to launder $4.5 billion stolen from Bitfinex, a Virgin-Islands-based change that was hacked a number of years in the past.

In 2016, a hacker compromised Bitfinex’s programs and remodeled 2,000 unauthorized transactions, sending cash from the change to a digital pockets that was later discovered to belong to Lichtenstein. Officials say that, over the previous 5 years, some 25,000 bitcoin have been transferred from the pockets, and that a few of these funds have ended up in “financial accounts controlled” by the couple. The the rest of the funds—over 94,000 bitcoin—stayed within the pockets.

Federal brokers not too long ago executed a search warrant that allowed them to look by means of the couple’s on-line accounts. There, they discovered information containing the personal cryptographic keys to the illicit crypto pockets in query, the DOJ claims. As a outcome, brokers seized the remaining 94,000 bitcoin, valued at some $3.6 billion—the most important ever monetary seizure in historical past, in accordance with the company.

The couple allegedly used a wide range of techniques to cover their actions, together with the usage of pretend on-line identities and the washing of funds by means of darknet marketplaces, officers say. According to the Justice Department, the couple in the end conspired to launder proceeds from 119,754 stolen bitcoin, a sum valued at a number of billion {dollars}.

“In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered stolen funds through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions,” stated Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Thanks to the meticulous work of law enforcement, the department once again showed how it can and will follow the money, no matter what form it takes.”

According to a LinkedIn page matching Lichtenstein’s description, he describes himself as an “early stage angel investing in founders and decentralized projects” who’s “interested in the changing nature of work, automation, autonomous networks and trustless computing.”

Morgan, in the meantime, seems to be one thing of a monetary influencer, making movies about enterprise and wealth by way of social media. “Serial entrepreneur & SaaS investor. Writer, rapper &artist w/ synesthesia,” reads her TikTok, @heatherreyhan. In a number of movies, Morgan describes how she “built a multimillion dollar business” in her twenties with “ZERO outside funding.”

She additionally apparently has one thing of a music profession. Going by the rap moniker “Razzlekhan,” or RZK, Morgan is a verified artist on Spotify, the place she describes herself as creating “sexy horror-comedy raps with an authentically awkward twang.” Her website mystifyingly dubs her the “infamous Crocodile of Wall Street” and claims her music seeks to conjure one thing “between an acid trip and a delightful nightmare.” She has produced a variety of singles, resembling “Versace Bedouin,” for which there are additionally music movies on her YouTube:

In the video, Morgan dances round Wall Street, and later lounges in what seems like a hookah bar whereas wearing center jap garb. Notably, one of many lyrics of the tune is: “The Versace bedouin, Come real far but don’t know where I’m headed.” The reply to that query: federal court docket. Lichtenstein and Morgan face fees for cash laundering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and, if convicted, may spend as much as 25 years behind bars.