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Rapper Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan is facing potential jail time for her part in hiding Bitcoin stolen by her husband from Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange. Despite facing money laundering and fraud charges, US prosecutors are suggesting an 18-month jail sentence, due to her helpfulness in the investigation. Morgan’s lawyers claim she was unaware of her husband’s actions until three years after the crime. Her husband, Ilya Lichtenstein, confessed to the theft and is lined up for a reduced sentence of five years for his cooperation in investigations. Morgan’s sentencing is due on November 15, with Lichtenstein’s a day prior.
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The rapper known as “Razzlekhan”, real name Heather Morgan, is hoping to avoid extra time in jail related to her part in hiding the Bitcoin her husband stole from a crypto exchange called Bitfinex. Her lawyers have asked the judge in a Washington, DC court to make the sentence no longer than the time she’s already spent in jail.
Morgan has had a rough time recently, getting sick with COVID-19 and recovering from surgery all while she was in jail leading up to her trial. Since being let out in February 2022, she’s followed all the rules set by the court.
She pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud in a plea deal in August 2023. It involved helping to hide about 120,000 Bitcoin (currently worth around $8.2 billion) that were stolen from Bitfinex by her hubby, Ilya Lichtenstein.
Despite this, US prosecutors have asked the judge to go easy on Morgan with a sentence of 18 months in prison. They say she’s been very helpful in their investigation. They also argue that she was not as involved in the crime as her husband, and that she didn’t spend as much of the stolen Bitcoin.
They say that she got wrapped up in the crime because of her husband, and that she probably felt pressured to help out of loyalty to him and to keep their life together going.
Morgan’s lawyers say she didn’t know about her husband’s hack until three years after he hacked into Bitfinex. They also say she understands the seriousness of what she’s done and feels very sorry for it.
Since getting out of jail, Morgan is working again and has been spotted at some crypto events. Her lawyers say she is growing up and wants to move away from her rapper image, “Razzlekhan”.
As part of their plea deal, Lichtenstein admitted to stealing the Bitcoin from Bitfinex and getting his wife to help hide the evidence. They tried to disguise some of the stolen Bitcoin by trading them through things called crypto mixers and other services which help to hide the source of crypto coins.
Last month, the US prosecutors suggested Lichtenstein should get a reduced prison sentence of five years rather than the original 20 years, because he has been very helpful in various investigations. But they did say that he should get a longer sentence than Morgan because he was the one who came up with the whole plan and even practised by stealing $200,000 from a different exchange.
Morgan’s sentencing is set for Nov. 15, while Lichtenstein’s sentencing is set for Nov. 14.