After seizing billions of stolen Bitcoin from Ilya Lichtenstein, Heather Morgan and their wife "Crocodile on Wall Street", the Justice Department conducted its largest crypto bust yet.
FOX Business examines the identity of the couple and how they are accused of stealing approximately $4.5 billion in bitcoin.
Heather Morgan, aka "Crocodile on Wall Street"
Heather Morgan has held many roles , including writer, economist, and Salesfolk CEO. She has written for publications like Forbes and Inc. Magazine.
Morgan writes a Forbes article in 2019 advising burnt-out executives that they try rapping after "everything began to fall apart" on a 2018 business trip to Asia.
She explained that within a matter of weeks I received legal threats and learned that there were dishonest employees who were fusing numbers. People I once highly respected tried to bully me into removing content that I believed the public should see. It was really awful. To make things worse, my parents discovered they had two different types of cancer in less than a week.
She said, "My life was chaotic and I felt like an *****e for wasting more time with my family and loved ones." "That was when I felt like a brick in a bag.
Razzlekhan was born from there, self-proclaimed "Crocodile on Wall Street". Razzlekahn, according to her website is "like Genghis Khan but with more pizzazz" who is there to "stick up to misfits and the underdogs everywhere." She credits the inspiration of rappers such as Tierra Whack, Mickey Avalaon and South African duo Die Antwood, as well as the creative works of Salvador Dali and Roald Dahl, Roald S Thompson, Hunter S Thompson and Roald Dahl. She describes herself as a rapper and designer, as well.
Morgan wrote an article in June 2020 entitled "Experts share tips to protect your business from cybercriminals".
Ilya Lichtenstein
Lichtenstein's LinkedIn states that is a 34-year old technology investor, entrepreneur, and investor who is interested in big data, automation, and blockchain technology. His Medium account refers to him also as an "explorer and occasional magician".
MixRank was founded by Lichtenstein in May 2011. It is a platform that sales teams use to automate prospecting and find new customers through scanning millions of websites, companies and mobile apps. According to the website of the company, it received its initial funding from Y Combinator in 2011, and has since been supported by investors like Mark Cuban.
Endpass, a blockchain startup solving problems in "decentralized authentication and identity", was founded by him in 2018. He and Heather Morgan, his then-girlfriend, got married in 2019. According to his Facebook page Lichtenstein proposed via a creative multi-channel marketing campaign.
Lichtenstein was most recently a mentor at 500 Global. This venture capital firm has more than $2.3B in assets under management. It invests in founders of fast-growing technology companies. SalesFolk is an advisor that specializes in cold email copywriting. Demandpath is a micro-fund that invests in the "next generation" of promising technologies.
Lichtenstein and Morgan's arrest
On Tuesday, the New York City couple were arrested for allegedly conspiring to launder cryptocurrency. The cryptocurrency was stolen from Bitfinex in 2016, a virtual currency exchange. It is currently valued at $4.5 billion.
According to the criminal complaint, Morgan and Lichtenstein used different methods of laundering money. They used fake identifies to create online accounts and computer programs to automate transactions. They also used computer programs to deposit stolen funds in multiple crypto exchange accounts to cover transaction histories. They also converted bitcoin to other virtual currencies and used U.S.-based business account accounts to appear legitimate.
Court documents state that a hacker stole 119,754 bitcoin proceeds via Bitfinex's website. Over the five-year period, the hacker then transferred the funds to Lichtenstein's digital wallet. According to court documents, approximately 25,000 bitcoin were transferred from that wallet via a complex laundering process into accounts controlled both by Morgan and Lichtenstein. According to the criminal complaint, more than 94,000 bitcoin were still in Lichtenstein's wallet that was used to store illegal funds.
Special agents executed search warrants on the couple's online accounts. They accessed files that contained passwords to their digital wallets linked to the stolen Bitfinex funds. Agents were able to seize the stolen Bitcoin, valued at $3.6 million at the time. Authorities said that they used their bitcoin to buy gold and gift cards for personal expenditures.
New York Judge has set bail at $5 million and $3 million for Morgan and Lichtenstein, respectively. The maximum sentence for the couple facing the conspiracy to commit money laundering or conspiracy to defraud America could be 25 years imprisonment.
A representative for Morgan and Lichtenstein did not immediately return FOX Business' request for comment.
