Just over a year after being sentenced to five years in prison for the theft of billions of dollars in Bitcoin, hacker Ilya Lichtenstein is free. Lichtenstein announced his release in a post on X, specifically crediting Trump: “Thanks to President Trump’s First Step Act, I have been released from prison early. I remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can.”
The First Step Act Lichtenstein referenced is a criminal justice reform bill passed in 2018 during the first Trump administration and expands options for early release, such as earned time credits. A Trump administration official confirmed the early release in a statement to CNBC, claiming that Lichtenstein “has served significant time on his sentence and is currently on home confinement consistent with statute and Bureau of Prisons policies.”
Lichtenstein’s wife, Heather Morgan, replied to his announcement post with a photo of the two of them. Morgan, who some might know as the infamous rapper “Razzlekhan” or “the Crocodile of Wall Street,” was also charged for the scheme to launder billions of dollars worth of Bitcoin stolen in the 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex. She was only sentenced to 18 months in prison, but was also apparently released early, a development she announced from her bathtub in a post on X in October. Morgan and Lichtenstein weren’t arrested for the hack until 2022. The duo have since become the subject of a Netflix docuseries and an upcoming film.
