Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan are due to make an appearance in court on Aug. 3 and have been accused of steam 119K BTC from Bitfinex. The post Couple Responsible for Bitfinex Attack Reach a Plea Agreement appeared first on Latest News and Insights on Blockchain, Cryptocurr...
According to recent reports, the “Crocodile of Wall Street” couple, who are accused of laundering billions of dollars in Bitcoin in connection with the 2016 Bitfinex case, have come to an agreement to plead guilty with US authorities.
Couple to Make an Appearance on Aug. 3
Based on the documents in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on July 21, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan are due to make an appearance in court on Aug. 3 for a hearing and trial in connection of their plea agreement with U.S.
Couple has been Accused of the Bitfinex Attack
The couple was said to be responsible for the Bitfinex attack, which sent tremors through the market in 2016, and as a result, Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 31, were both charged with suspected laundering of significant amounts of assets taken in a big hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex.
Theft of 119K Bitcoin from Bitfinex
They were accused of a theft of about 119,754 Bitcoin in August 2016. The funds were reportedly laundered by Lichtenstein and Morgan “in a series of small, complex transactions across multiple accounts and platforms.” Authorities apprehended each of them in February 2022 in New York and seized the BTC, which was valued approximately $54 million at the time of the breach.
A Plea Agreement
The couple made headlines once again in June of last year when they were found considering a possible plea agreement. At the moment, the two were summoned to be present in federal court on Friday, June 3, but the federal attorneys have requested that the case be delayed until August 2, as they needed a bit more time to dig out the substantial financial documents and decide on a plea deal with the couple.
As reported by TheCoinRise, the global significance of the Bitfinex hack prompted Netflix to release a brand-new documentary series about the incident. According to the streaming and production firm, “the couple allegedly tried to liquidate their digital money by creating fake identities and online accounts and buying physical gold, NFTs, and more – all while investigators raced to track the money’s movement on the blockchain.”