The Bitfinex Crypto Heist: All you need to know about the scamster couple

moneycontrol.com:

In 2016, cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex was robbed of about $70 million, with hackers making away with some 1,20,000 bitcoins. The treasure is worth a staggering  $4.5 billion today! 

Six years down, Ilya Lichenstein and Heather Morgan have been arrested in connection with swindling of money from the exchange. Calling themselves “serial entrepreneurs” focused on bitcoin technology and the B2B space, with a significant and active social media presence, they were arrested on Tuesday in Manhattan on grounds of conspiracy to commit money laundering and defrauding the US government. 

“We’re pleased that DOJ has recovered a significant portion of the bitcoin stolen during the 2016 hack. We have been cooperating extensively with DOJ since its investigation of this incident began," a Bitfinex spokesperson said. 

A spokesperson for sister company Tether said that “Bitfinex intends to provide further updates on its efforts to obtain a return of the stolen bitcoin as and when those updates are available”. 

Hello, Ilya and Heather!

While most hackers and launderers chose to lie low, keeping their digital presence to a minimum, Heather Morgan, who is originally from California and also happens to be an aspiring rapper and a writer contributing to Forbes, preferred to display her life on the internet, giving glimpses of her active New York social life. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of California, Davis.

Her Linkedin profile describes her as an “irreverent comedic rapper”, performing under the title Razzlekhan, the “infamous crocodile of Wall Street”, in addition to being a “Serial Entrepreneur, SaaS Investors and Surrealist”. 

Reportedly fluent in eight languages per her profile, including Arabic,