Bitfinex Hacker Behind $11 Billion Bitcoin Heist Credits Trump for Early Prison Release
Ilya Lichtenstein, convicted for stealing over 119,000 Bitcoin from Bitfinex in 2016 (now valued at $11.2 billion), was released from prison years ahead of schedule and credits President Trump's First Step Act for his early release. Lichtenstein had been sentenced in November 2024 to five years in prison; his wife and co-conspirator, Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, was also released early. Both publicly thanked Trump. The First Step Act, signed in 2018, allows for some federal inmates to be granted early release or home confinement based on good behavior credits or eligibility criteria such as age or health, but it is unclear which provision applied to Lichtenstein. The U.S. government recovered the stolen Bitcoin. Officials confirmed Lichtenstein is now on home confinement, but did not clarify if the White House took any specific action to secure his release. Morgan also credited Trump for her early release, though a White House official said her release did not come from a presidential commutation.
