In a surprising turn of events, Ilya Lichtenstein, who was convicted for stealing billions in Bitcoin, has been released from prison just a year into his five-year sentence. Lichtenstein took to X to share the news, attributing his early release to the First Step Act championed by former President Trump. He expressed his intention to contribute positively to the field of cybersecurity.
The First Step Act, which Lichtenstein mentioned, is a reform initiative passed in 2018 under Trump’s administration. This legislation broadens options for early release, including earned time credits. A statement from a Trump-era official confirmed Lichtenstein’s early release, stating he has served a considerable portion of his sentence and is now under home confinement, in line with legal and prison regulations.
Following Lichtenstein’s announcement, his wife, Heather Morgan, known in some circles as the rapper “Razzlekhan” or the “Crocodile of Wall Street,” responded with a photo of them together. Morgan faced her own charges for her involvement in laundering billions of Bitcoin during the 2016 Bitfinex hack. Despite an 18-month sentence, she, too, was released early, sharing the news in an X post from her bathtub in October. The couple, arrested in 2022, have since become the focus of a Netflix docuseries and an upcoming feature film.
