In a recent legal filing, the US government has suggested that the crypto exchange Bitfinex may be the only victim of a 2016 hack perpetrated by Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan. However, the government has also requested the court to open a pathway for Bitfinex customers to potentially submit claims.
According to the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, “The government is not aware of any person who qualifies as a victim under the CVRA [Crime Victims’ Rights Act] or for restitution under the MVRA [Mandatory Victim Restitution Act], beyond perhaps Bitfinex.” Both Lichtenstein and Morgan, as well as Bitfinex’s parent company iFinex, have maintained that the crypto trading platform is the sole victim of the hack.
Following the 2016 incident, iFinex offered Bitfinex customers several options to address the loss of their funds, including selling BFX tokens on the market or back to the platform for cash or iFinex stock. The government noted that all customers holding BFX tokens chose to exercise one of these options, and by April 3, 2017, all BFX tokens had been fully redeemed.
Despite this, the US government has expressed a desire to provide Bitfinex accountholders with an “opportunity to advance potential claims” before the sentencing of Lichtenstein and Morgan. To facilitate this, the government has requested the court to allow it to use various notification methods, including the Department of Justice’s website.
Lichtenstein and Morgan, who is also known by her rapper name “Razzlekhan,” pleaded guilty in August 2023 to money laundering conspiracy in connection with the Bitfinex hack. The pair allegedly conspired to launder 119,754 bitcoin tokens in August 2016, which at the time had a value of approximately $71 million.Kaynaklar ve ilgili içerik
