Share this @internewscast.com

A rapping tech CEO and her husband, the son of an Illinois mortgage broker, were arrested Tuesday and charged with laundering billions in stolen cryptocurrency.

Court documents say that Ilya Lichtenstein, 34, and Heather Morgan, 31, are alleged to have helped launder the proceeds of a hacker’s massive breach of the bitcoin platform Bitfinex in 2016, NBC News reported.

Nearly 120,000 bitcoins were stolen in the breach, according to prosecutors, who said they were sent to a digital wallet in Lichtenstein’s control. About 25,000 of the coins were sent out of the wallet in laundering transactions, ending with some of the money deposited into Lichtenstein and Morgan’s financial accounts.

The rest of the coins remained in the wallet, where they were seized by federal investigators. At the time of the theft, the coins were worth more than $71 million; they were worth more than $3.6 billion when the feds seized them.

“Today’s arrests, and the department’s largest financial seizure ever, show that cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said in a statement. “In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered stolen funds through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions. Thanks to the meticulous work of law enforcement, the department once again showed how it can and will follow the money, no matter what form it takes.”

According to the Daily Beast, Morgan, from northern California, raps under the name “Razzlekhan,” sometimes shortened to just “Razz,” and was a frequent contributor to Forbes magazine — but not an employee, the magazine said — until September 2021. She also contributed to Inc magazine and founded the tech company SalesFolk, which calls itself “the first company to specialize in cold email copywriting.”

Lichtenstein, who holds dual Russian/U.S. citizenship, is from Illinois, where his father, mortgage banker Yevgeniy Likhtenshteyn, declined to comment on his son’s arrest.

Prosecutors said the pair spent some of their ill-gotten gains on gold, NFTs, and “mundane things such as purchasing a Walmart gift card for $500.”

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast

[Featured image: “Razzlekhan” (Heather Morgan)/Facebook]

Source: This post first appeared on

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Police Report Suspect Described Deadly Shooting as Act of Compassion

Background: News footage of the Fishers, Ind. neighborhood where Cameron Doaks was…

ICE Confirms Destruction of Crucial Video Linked to Detention Lawsuit

Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with Kristi Noem at a campaign rally…

Unraveling the Trump RICO Case: Challenges Facing Fani Willis’ Ambitious Legal Pursuit

Left: FILE – Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis poses for a…

Shocking Lawsuit Reveals Dangerous Bacteria Contamination in Popular Baby Formula

Inset: Piper Everett (Facebook/Hanna Everett). Background: The Kentucky Children’s Hospital where Piper…

Tragic Discovery: Woman Charged with Murder After 4-Year-Old Found Dead in Car Trunk

Inset: Jessica M. Motes (Hall County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Police responding to…

Alleged Synagogue Arsonist Granted Bail, Reintegrates into Community

Giovanni Laulu, aged 21, appeared via video link from Barwon Prison as…

Legal Drama Unfolds: Comey and Letitia James Move to Dismiss Amidst Lindsey Halligan Controversy

Main: Attorney General Pam Bondi appears before a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight…

Driver Strikes Woman and Abandons Her in Alley, Police Report

Share A startling incident unfolded in Duluth, Minnesota, where a man is…

Adoptive Son Faces Courtroom Showdown: Prosecutors Reveal Motive in Dima Tower Double Murder Trial

A Florida man has invoked a “temporary insanity” defense in connection with…

Nine-Year-Old Melodee Reported Missing; Mother Released with Ankle Monitor and Declines Comment

Concerns arose when Melodee Buzzard was initially reported missing, with school officials…

Man Confesses to Killing Girlfriend and Burning Her Remains

Inset left: Megan Bodiford (GoFundMe). Inset right: Jarrett Davis (Bamberg County Sheriff”s…

Prosecutors Allege Woman Fatally Attacked Shopper to Fund Cheerleading Trip

Background: Cherie Townsend spoke to KCNB in 2018 after she was released…