Ilya Lichtenstein, the hacker behind one of many largest Bitcoin thefts on file, has been launched from jail simply over a yr after receiving a five-year sentence, because of a legal justice reform regulation signed throughout former President Donald Trump’s first time period.
“Due to President Trump’s First Step Act, I’ve been launched from jail early,” Lichtenstein mentioned in a Friday put up on X. “I stay dedicated to creating a constructive affect in cybersecurity as quickly as I can,” he added.
The First Step Act, handed in 2018, expanded eligibility for sentence reductions by means of earned time credit and different rehabilitation measures. Lichtenstein was sentenced in November 2024 after pleading responsible to a cash laundering conspiracy tied to the 2016 hack of Bitfinex, during which almost 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC) had been stolen.
Lichtenstein’s spouse, Heather Morgan, additionally acknowledged the information, posting a photograph of the couple and calling it the “greatest New 12 months’s current” after years of separation. Morgan, who carried out beneath the title “Razzlekhan” and was charged for serving to launder the stolen funds, obtained an 18-month sentenceand introduced her personal early launch in October.
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Bitfinex hack duo arrested in 2022
Lichtenstein and Morgan had been arrested in 2022, years after the hack, following a sweeping federal investigation that in the end led to the seizure of a good portion of the stolen Bitcoin. Their case later grew to become the topic of a Netflix docuseries and an upcoming movie.
After being sentenced to 5 years in jail, Lichtenstein confessed to hacking Bitfinex in 2016 and laundering “hundreds of Bitcoin” however urged he wished to shoulder everything of the blame moderately than his spouse. “[My wife] was under no circumstances concerned within the hack itself. She didn’t even find out about it for years,” he mentioned.
Although there have been many victims of the Bitfinex hack, the change stands out as the solely social gathering that qualifies for reimbursement, in keeping with an October 2024 courtroom submitting. The US authorities had requested victims of the 2016 hack to submit affect statements by November.
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Trump to assessment case of Samourai pockets co-founder
Lichtenstein’s early launch comes as Trump has mentioned he’ll assessment the case of Samourai Pockets co-founder Keonne Rodriguez, signaling he could take into account a possible pardon. Talking at a White Home press convention final month, Trump mentioned he was conscious of the case and would “check out it,” whereas noting he was not but accustomed to the small print.
In January final yr and shortly after taking workplace, Trump granted Ross Ulbricht, the founding father of the defunct darknet market Silk Street, a presidential pardon on his life sentence. He additionally pardoned Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao in October.
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