Bitfinex Hacker Ilya Lichtenstein Freed Early Under Reform Law

Ilya Lichtenstein, behind the 2016 Bitfinex hack, has been released early from prison under the First Step Act after serving less than his five-year sentence. His wife, Heather Morgan, was also released early.

Ilya Lichtenstein, who admitted to orchestrating the 2016 Bitfinex hack involving the theft and laundering of nearly 120,000 Bitcoin, has been released from prison earlier than his original five-year sentence. Lichtenstein credited his early release to the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform law signed in 2018, which allows federal inmates to earn time credits for participating in rehabilitation programs. Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Morgan, were arrested in 2022 after authorities traced the movement of the stolen Bitcoin, which had grown in value to over $4 billion by the time of their arrest. Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, with Morgan receiving an 18-month sentence and being released after serving about eight months. Lichtenstein's early release highlights the impact of the First Step Act on sentencing for financial crimes, particularly in the cryptocurrency sector, and introduces new considerations for compliance and regulatory risk models.