HEATHER “Razzlekhan” Morgan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein have pleaded guilty to trying to launder $4.5billion of Bitcoin which he stole in a hack.
Here’s everything you need to know about Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan after her downfall.
1
Who is Heather Morgan?
Heather Morgan, who goes by the stage name Razzlekhan, is a part-time rapper and Forbes contributor who previously ran an email marketing company.
Earning a Bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations from the University of California, and a Master’s degree in economics of international development at the American University of Cairo, she moved to New York to pursue a career in finance.
On her LinkedIn profile, Morgan describes herself as a “serial entrepreneur, prolific writer, and investor in B2B software companies with high growth potential”.
Several of her articles for Forbes have focused on advice and opinions on cryptocurrency prospects and security.
Later setting up a YouTube channel, the economist candidly set out her intention to become an influencer through her music.
On Morgan’s website for her rapping career, she refers to herself as “the infamous Crocodile of Wall Street,” who is “more fearless and more shameless than ever before”.
In music videos set in the Financial District, she dedicates her clunky songs to “the entrepreneurs and hackers, all the misfits and smart slackers”.
According to The New York Times, the clip was filmed close to her swish $1million apartment, which she shares with her husband Ilya Lichtenstein.
What has Heather Morgan been charged with?
Heather Morgan has pleaded guilty to laundering $4.5billion in Bitcoin which her husband Ilya Lichtenstein stole in a 2015 hack.
The couple were arrested in New York in 2022 after cops traced their mysterious wealth back to the crypto heist.
Morgan admitted both money laundering and an additional count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Lichtenstein admitted hacking and money laundering as part of a plea deal.
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Computer programmer Lichtenstein stole the Bitcoin from crypto firm Bitfinex.
He now faces up to 20 years in prison – with Morgan also liable to serve as long as 10 years.
The couple’s $4.5billion stash of 119,000 Bitcoins was the Department of Justice’s largest-ever financial seizure.
They split the Bitcoin between thousands of crypto wallets protected with fake identities.
Morgan and Lichtenstein also flogged their stolen Bitcoin on darknet marketplace Alphabay.
They sank some of their ill-gotten gains into gold coins and laundered much of the rest through shell companies.
But cops cottoned on when the couple used the stolen crypto to pay for Walmart vouchers.
Crypto investigator Jonathan Levin told the BBC: “Police were able to link the Walmart gift cards back to some of the proceeds of the Bitfinex hack, which then opened up further investigation.
“Buying gift cards and moving between different exchanges and different cryptocurrencies never actually created this sort of break in provenance that the couple intended.”
When cops raided the couple’s Manhattan pad, they found burner phones, USB sticks, and $40,000 in banknotes hidden inside hollowed-out books.
A decrypted spreadsheet revealed the full inventory of where the couple had hidden the stolen money.
Officers also discovered that Morgan and Lichtenstein were planning to flee the US for Russia.
Why is Heather Morgan called Razzlekhan?
In her quest for online fame, Heather Morgan left a trail of videos on TikTok.
In one of them, she could be heard singing, “yes, that was cheesy/at least I’m not sleazy.”
Since then, she began performing online under the name of Razzlekhan – although the true origin of her name remains unknown.
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