{"id":66163,"date":"2026-01-03T11:01:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T11:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=66163"},"modified":"2026-01-03T11:01:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T11:01:32","slug":"bitfinex-hack-mastermind-released-early-from-prison-credits-2018-trump-law-details","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=66163","title":{"rendered":"Bitfinex Hack Mastermind Released Early From Prison, Credits 2018 Trump Law \u2013 Details"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The mastermind behind the Bitfinex hack, one of the most prominent cases in crypto security history, has been released early from prison after serving 14 months, under a 2018 law signed by US President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Bitfinex Hack Mastermind Receives Early Release<\/h2>\n

On Friday, Ilya Lichtenstein, the mastermind behind the 2016 hack that stole over 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC) from crypto exchange Bitfinex, announced that he had been released from prison a year after receiving a five-year sentence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On X, Lichtenstein thanked<\/a> a law signed by President Trump during his first administration for his release. \u201cThanks to President Trump\u2019s First Step Act, I have been released from prison early,\u201d the post stated.<\/p>\n

Notably, Trump signed the bipartisan First Step Act on December 21, 2018, aiming to improve criminal justice outcomes and reduce the size of the federal prison population. The law included a series of reforms, including one to establish a \u201crisk and needs assessment system\u201d that offers some inmates rehabilitative programming and the opportunity to be released early into home confinement.<\/p>\n

According to CNBC, A Trump administration official stated<\/a> on January 2 that the mastermind behind the Bitfinex hack \u201chas served significant time on his sentence and is currently on home confinement consistent with statute and Bureau of Prisons policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) previously declared that Lichtenstein used advanced hacking techniques and tools to access Bitfinex\u2019s network. He then transferred 119,574 Bitcoin to one of his crypto wallets through more than 2,000 transactions.<\/p>\n

At the time, the stolen funds were valued at around $71 million. However, its value has increased exponentially in the past decade, being worth nearly $11 billion at current prices. During his sentencing<\/a> hearing, he expressed remorse for using his talents on criminal activities \u201cinstead of a positive contribution to society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remain committed to making a positive impact in cybersecurity as soon as I can,\u201d Lichtenstein affirmed on his Friday announcement, thanking his supporters for the help and vowing to prove \u201cthe haters\u201d wrong.<\/p>\n

Crypto Heist Figures Reunite Under Trump\u2019s Law<\/h2>\n

Lichtenstein\u2019s wife, Heather Morgan, reacted<\/a> to the news online, declaring that being reunited at home with her husband after four years was \u201cthe best New Year\u2019s present\u201d she could get.<\/p>\n

Morgan, a rapper known online as \u201cRazzlekhan,\u201d entered prison in February 2025 but was released early from prison after eight months under the First Step Act. In late October, she posted a video on X, sharing the news and thanking President Trump for her release.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very good to be back, and I want to give a shout out to Papa Trump for making my 18-month sentence shorter,\u201d she stated<\/a>. However, it appears that the US President was not directly involved in the decision.<\/p>\n

As reported by Bitcoinist, the self-titled \u201cCrocodile of Wall Street\u201d was sentenced<\/a> to 18 months in prison on November 18, 2024, for her role in the Bitfinex heist. Despite not being involved in the hack, Morgan assisted her husband in laundering the stolen funds by using \u201cnumerous sophisticated laundering techniques\u201d to disguise them.<\/p>\n

Notably, they used fake identities to create online accounts, deposited the stolen Bitcoin in several darknet markets and crypto exchanges to withdraw the funds, converted BTC to other cryptocurrencies, and deposited part of the funds into crypto mixers. The couple seemingly managed to launder 21% of the total funds stolen from Bitfinex.<\/p>\n

At the time, prosecutors argued that Morgan was \u201ca willing participant and bears full responsibility for her actions.\u201d Nonetheless, they noted that she was \u201ca lower-level participant,\u201d which resulted in her reduced sentence.<\/p>\n

\"Bitcoin,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The mastermind behind the Bitfinex hack, one of the most prominent cases in crypto security history, has been released early from prison after serving 14 months, under a 2018 law signed by US President Donald Trump. Bitfinex Hack Mastermind Receives Early Release On Friday, Ilya Lichtenstein, the mastermind behind the 2016 hack that stole over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-66163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=66163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=66163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=66163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}