Billion-dollar Bitcoin hacker Ilya Lichtenstein thanks Trump for early prison release


Just over a year after being sentenced to five years in prison for the theft of billions of dollars in Bitcoin, hacker Ilya Lichtenstein is free. Lichtenstein announced his release in a post on X, specifically crediting Trump: “Thanks to President Trump’s First Step Act, I have been released from prison early. I remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can.”

The First Step Act Lichtenstein referenced is a criminal justice reform bill passed in 2018 during the first Trump administration and expands options for early release, such as earned time credits. A Trump administration official confirmed the early release in a statement to CNBC, claiming that Lichtenstein “has served significant time on his sentence and is currently on home confinement consistent with statute and Bureau of Prisons policies.”

Lichtenstein’s wife, Heather Morgan, replied to his announcement post with a photo of the two of them. Morgan, who some might know as the infamous rapper “Razzlekhan” or “the Crocodile of Wall Street,” was also charged for the scheme to launder billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin stolen in the 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex. She was only sentenced to 18 months in prison, but was also apparently released early, a development she announced from her bathtub in a post on X in October. Morgan and Lichtenstein weren’t arrested for the hack until 2022. The duo have since become the subject of a Netflix docuseries and an upcoming film.



Source link

  • Related Posts

    AO3 is finally out of beta after 17 years

    Archive of Our Own (AO3) is officially exiting beta. The Organization for Transformative Works — the nonprofit behind the fanfiction site — announced the update on Thursday, which comes 17…

    SpaceX tries to convince FCC that Amazon put satellites into wrong altitude

    Amazon also told the FCC it would “further mitigate the risk of collision” by “coordinat[ing] during operations, in real-time, with systems through whose orbital altitudes Kuiper Satellites will transit.” The…

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    You Missed

    AO3 is finally out of beta after 17 years

    AO3 is finally out of beta after 17 years

    FirstFT: Trump ousts US attorney-general Pam Bondi

    The Rugged, Waterproof JI Osmo Action 4 Action Camera Can Record at 4K and 120fps for Just $199

    The Rugged, Waterproof JI Osmo Action 4 Action Camera Can Record at 4K and 120fps for Just $199

    Judge blasts ‘deplorable’ staffing issues, which shut down Dean Penney’s murder trial for the day

    Judge blasts ‘deplorable’ staffing issues, which shut down Dean Penney’s murder trial for the day

    Alberta government says new bill intended to…

    Himesh Patel Joins New ‘X-Files’ Reboot

    Himesh Patel Joins New ‘X-Files’ Reboot