According to Bloomberg, Lichtenstein received his sentence in Washington federal court on November 14. This sentence corresponds to a more “severe” sentence as requested by prosecutors.

Prosecutors had sought a harsher sentence for Lichtenstein than for his wife, Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan. While Morgan is known as a rapper on social media, the recommended sentence for him was stated as 18 months.

The sentence for Lichtenstein could be up to 20 years according to current guidelines. However, the information he provided as a government witness in many cybercrime-related cases resulted in his sentence being reduced significantly.

He played a key role in investigations, particularly by sharing details about complex money laundering schemes. One of the cases Lichtenstein contributed to with his testimony was a money laundering case in February 2024 involving a mixing service called Bitcoin Fog.

Together with her rapper husband, Lichtenstein infiltrated the Bitfinex exchange in 2016 and seized approximately 119,754 Bitcoins.

At the time of the theft, the value of these Bitcoins was 71 million dollars, but with the recent increase in the value of the cryptocurrency, it is stated that the stolen amount exceeded 10.5 billion dollars at the current market price.

Currently, Bitcoin’s price is trading at $88,158 and rose as high as $93,000 last week following the US Consumer Price Index report.

Lichtenstein is described as an “extremely skilled computer expert” who infiltrated the Bitfinex network and transferred more than 2,000 Bitcoins to a wallet under his control.

However, Bitfinex was not the only platform targeted by the hacker; It is known that Lichtenstein also took over accounts on major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken.

Morgan, on the other hand, claims that his wife learned about the Bitfinex robbery in 2020. After learning, he used various methods to help hide the stolen Bitcoins. These methods include transactions such as purchasing NFT, gold and Walmart gift cards.

The couple also used advanced money laundering techniques to hide the money. Prosecutors said the couple tried to cover their tracks by withdrawing and depositing funds from unregulated crypto exchanges and darknet markets.

The prosecutor’s office announced that the information Lichtenstein gave to the court made a significant contribution, especially to investigations related to cyber crimes, and therefore his sentence was reduced.

However, it was still decided that he should receive a serious punishment for the Bitfinex theft and subsequent money laundering activities.

Lichtenstein’s sentence could set a precedent for such large-scale cyber crimes aimed at defrauding the United States.

Morgan’s sentence will be announced on November 18. Similar to his wife, it is thought Morgan may receive a reduced sentence due to his cooperation with investigations. However, he still faces a possible prison sentence of up to five years for attempting to defraud the United States.

Since the couple’s arrest, discussions have increased in the cryptocurrency world on how to prevent similar crimes and measures to combat money laundering. It is emphasized that regulatory authorities should impose stricter controls, especially to ensure the security of crypto exchanges and users.