Heather Morgan and her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, were arrested Tuesday and accused of conspiring to launder billions of dollars worth of bitcoin stolen during a 2016 hack targeting the virtual cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, the Justice Department said.
Federal prosecutors describe OneCoin as one of the largest international fraud schemes ever perpetrated. Ruja Ignatova is one of the FBI's 10 most-wanted fugitives -- the only woman currently on that list.
Heather Morgan, 31, is now employed by an unknown tech firm despite the legal peril she and her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, face over accusations they attempted to launder 119,754 bitcoin that they are said to have stolen when the Bitfinex crypto exchange was hacked in 2016.
Lichtenstein initiated a series of illicit transactions to launder the funds and transfer them to accounts controlled by him and his partner. In total, 25,000 bitcoins were put through a complex computerized money-laundering process, so that they could be cleaned and spent beyond the sight of law enforcement.
Federal agents arrested New York City couple Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein and Heather Rhiannon Morgan yesterday on charges of conspiring to launder $4.5 billion in Bitcoin stolen during the 2016 Bitfinex hack—reportedly using the proceeds to buy gold and NFT art.
The largest holder of Bitcoin is believed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous founder of Bitcoin. Nakamoto is estimated to own approximately 1,000,000 BTC, worth around $27.13 billion.
Satoshi Nakamoto is said to be the inventor of bitcoin and wrote the token's original white paper in 2008. Crypto fans this week celebrated Nakamoto's 48th birthday amid new theories as to their true identity. Here's what to know about the mysterious icon behind the world's largest cryptocurrency.
Lichtenstein and Morgan are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries up to 20 years in prison, and conspiracy to defraud the US, which carries up to five years in prison, according to Justice officials. An attorney for the couple could not be immediately reached for comment.
In February 2022, Morgan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein were charged by the FBI with conspiracy to launder over $4 billion in stolen bitcoin.
'The Crocodile of Wall Street' gets new tech job despite being accused of crypto laundering and under 24-hour house arrest.
Couples rarely commit crimes together. But Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, whose social media antics disguised an alleged plot to abscond with billions in stolen crypto, are no ordinary couple.
The man with the most to lose is Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, crypto's largest exchange, a sprawling global network of murky subsidiaries.
Stefan Thomas, a programmer, lost the password to access his 7,000 Bitcoins in 2012. Back then, each Bitcoin was worth $10 or $11; however, one Bitcoin is worth about $37,000, which means Thomas has more than $250 million he is unable to access.
Governance of Bitcoin
Bitcoin is controlled by its users, miners, nodes, exchanges, and developers worldwide.
The co-founder of Tesla Inc. revealed on Twitter that he owns only a tiny fraction of one bitcoin token. "I literally own zero cryptocurrency, apart from . 25 BTC that a friend sent me many years ago," Musk confessed.
For his efforts, a bitcoin enthusiast awarded him 7,002 bitcoins. Later that year, he lost the password to his IronKey, the USB hard drive that contains the digital wallet that holds his bitcoins. Since then, the currency's value has skyrocketed, and Thomas' holdings are worth $220 million US ($321 million Cdn.)
Bitcoin, contrary to popular belief, is traceable. While your identity is not directly linked to your Bitcoin address, all transactions are public and recorded on the blockchain. So, while your name is not attached to your address, your address is attached to your transaction history.
Is the "Putin behind bitcoin" rumor true? Putin has been Russia's president for many years. In that role, it would be hard to believe that Putin would have the time to devote to building a complex cryptocurrency system like bitcoin. In that case, it would be highly doubtful that he's behind the crypto.
The three notable crypto luminaries who died within a few weeks of one another were Nikolai Mushegian, 29, Tiantian Kullander, 30, and Vyacheslav Taran, 53.
However, some estimates can be made based on blockchain data and surveys of Bitcoin holders. According to data from Bitinfocharts, as of March 2023, there are approximately 827,000 addresses that hold 1 bitcoin or more, representing around 4.5% of all addresses on the Bitcoin network.
Of course, Finman is biased: The teen crypto phenom used $1,000 his grandmother gave him when he was 12 years old to buy his first bitcoin when the little-known virtual currency was just $12 a token. By age 18, Finman had become a millionaire. (See more: Who is Erik Finman, the Bitcoin Millionaire Teenager?)
From Elon Musk to Mark Cuban: 9 billionaires who own Bitcoin - Decrypt.