Bitfinex 2016 hack (Razzlekhan)
About 119,754 BTC were stolen from the Bitfinex exchange in August 2016. In 2022 the U.S. DOJ arrested Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan ('Razzlekhan') for laundering the proceeds; both pleaded guilty, and Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in 2024.
Also known as: Bitfinex hack, Ilya Lichtenstein, Heather Morgan, Razzlekhan
Summary
In August 2016, roughly 119,754 bitcoin (worth about $72 million at the time) were stolen from the Hong Kong-based exchange Bitfinex in a security breach. The stolen coins, which appreciated dramatically, became central to one of the largest money-laundering cases the DOJ has brought. [1][2]
Arrests and outcome
In February 2022 the DOJ announced the arrests of Ilya Lichtenstein and his wife Heather Morgan — a rapper who performed as "Razzlekhan" — and the seizure of about 94,000 BTC (then ~$3.6 billion) tied to the hack. Both pleaded guilty in 2023; Lichtenstein admitted carrying out the original hack. In November 2024 Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years in prison and Morgan to 18 months. [1][3]
Bracketed numbers refer to the numbered sources listed below.
Sources (3)
See also
AmanKesar11 Frozen Bitcoin CaseOtherIn June 2026, blockchain investigator reports highlighted a case involving approximately 5.73 BTC (worth roughly $475,000 at the time of freezing) that had been frozen by cryptocurrency exchange Changelly in March 2025. The individual associated with the funds, using the online alias AmanKesar11, reportedly contacted investigators seeking assistance in recovering the frozen assets. During discussions, multiple and conflicting explanations were provided regarding the origin of the funds.
Gala Games exploitTokensOn May 20, 2024 an attacker abused a privileged minter account on the GALA token contract to mint 5 billion GALA (≈$200M+ nominal) and dumped ~600M of them for ~$22M of ETH before Gala froze the address. Gala Games called it an internal access-control failure; the attacker later returned the ~$22M.
This page was last updated on Jun 15, 2026. View revision history.
