Russian hacker may get 5 years for hacking cryptocurrency exchange

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a five-year prison sentence for Ilya Lichtenstein, accused of hacking into the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange in 2016 and stealing 120,000 bitcoins.

The Justice Ministry said it decided to reduce the charges for Liechtenstein because he cooperated with the investigation and helped in other investigations, including testifying against the operator of the cryptocurrency mixer Bitcoin Fog earlier this year.

His wife and accomplice Heather Morgan’s sentence will be shorter, as Liechtenstein is primarily responsible for the hacking of Bitfinex, according to the prosecution.

According to the case file, Liechtenstein agreed to transfer funds in several cryptocurrencies totaling more than $ 6 billion to Bitfinex as compensation for damages.

As a reminder, Ilya Lichtenstein was arrested in February 2022, and in August 2023 he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to illegally obtain funds from Bitfinex.