30s Summary

A virtual wallet reportedly managed by the U.S. government, filled with money seized from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, was robbed of $20 million on October 24. The hacker transferred the stolen money to another wallet containing various forms of digital currency. The funds were originally stolen by Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan, now awaiting sentencing. The heist marked the largest digital asset seizure by the U.S. Department of Justice at the time. The prosecutors are now suggesting lighter sentences for the couple due to their cooperation with the law enforcement and relatively minor involvement.

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A hacker targeted and successfully looted a virtual wallet believed to be managed by the U.S. government on October 24. The wallet, filled with money that the government had previously confiscated from the 2016 Bitfinex hack, was drained of a whopping $20 million.

Arkham Intelligence shares that the sneaky thief transferred the stolen funds to a different wallet, starting with “0x348”. This wallet contained multiple forms of digital currency, including US Dollar Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT), aUSDC, and Ether (ETH).

Not only that, but it looks like the thief is also swapping the stablecoins for ETH and washing the funds via addresses that could be connected to some sort of money laundering service.

To add context, these funds were initially stolen during the 2016 Bitfinex hack by Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan. The pair is scheduled for sentencing next month.

To look into the 2016 Bitfinex hack, Lichtenstein and Morgan snuck into the Bitfinex exchange before running off with 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC) which is worth around $8.2 billion nowadays. The duo was caught by the U.S. authorities in 2022.

The fuzz also confiscated the stolen crypto assets, marking the biggest digital asset seizure by the United States Department of Justice at that time.

The couple pleaded guilty to money laundering and deceiving the U.S. government in a plea deal, hoping for more lenient sentences in July 2023. Initially, Lichtenstein admitted to washing the funds but later confessed he was the hacker too.

Earlier this month, U.S. prosecutors suggested that Morgan should get a lighter 18-month sentence since she helped the law enforcement and wasn’t a major player in the scheme, not spending a ton of the stolen money.

Utilizing the same logic, the prosecutors suggested five years for Lichtenstein for conducting the hack and stealing 120,000 BTC. A huge step down from the 20-year sentence they initially wanted. Prosecutors also mentioned Lichtenstein’s cooperation with the investigators and a clean legal record as reasons for the lighter sentence.

Source: Cointelegraph