'Crypto Couple' appear set to plead guilty in bitcoin hack money laundering case

The New York mates charged with trying to launder $4.5 billion successful bitcoin stolen successful a 2016 hack of Bitfinex look acceptable to plead blameworthy successful the case.

The couple, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Rhiannon Morgan, person been recently charged successful the lawsuit with a papers known arsenic an information, according to a caller Washington, D.C., national tribunal docket introduction Friday.

An accusation is simply a benignant of charging papers that national prosecutors typically usage erstwhile defendants person agreed to plead guilty.

Another docket introduction shows that Lichtenstein and the aspiring rapper Morgan person been ordered to look successful tribunal connected Aug. 3 for abstracted arraignments and plea hearings connected the information.

The quality of the complaint oregon charges successful the accusation was not made public. It is communal for informations to person less charges than those primitively lodged against defendants, oregon to person antithetic ones.

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly connected Friday ordered prosecutors and defence lawyers to supply plea paperwork to her by Thursday, the docket shows.

That paperwork is to see "charged offense(s) and statutory provision; charge(s) successful plea and statutory provision; elements of the offense; transcript of the plea agreement; penalties; and [federal sentencing] line calculations."

The mates was primitively charged successful a transgression ailment erstwhile they were arrested successful February 2022, and had pleaded not blameworthy to the charges listed successful that papers – wealth laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Morgan, known arsenic "Razzlekhan," is escaped connected a $3 cardinal bond. Lichtenstein, whose nickname is "Dutch," has been held successful jailhouse since February 2022 without enslaved aft a justice ruled that the Russian emigre was a formation risk.

The U.S. Attorney's Office successful Washington, which is prosecuting the couple, declined to comment. Their defence lawyers didn't instantly respond to requests for remark from CNBC.

Prosecutors had said weeks aft the couple's arrests that they were successful plea negotiations with them.

The couple's lawsuit has been repeatedly continued since their arrests. Until Friday's caller docket entries, they had been scheduled to look astatine a presumption proceeding connected Monday. That proceeding was vacated arsenic a effect of the caller charging papers being filed.

Lichtenstein, 34, and the 32-year-old Morgan are accused of trying to launder the proceeds of 119,754 bitcoin that were stolen from Bitfinex's level successful August 2016. The mates was not charged successful the hack of the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange.

At the clip of their arrests, the Department of Justice said officials had been capable to prehend much than 94,000 bitcoin progressive successful the hack, which astatine that clip of the seizure was worthy astir $3.6 billion. That was the largest fiscal seizure successful DOJ history.

The bitcoin stolen successful the hack was worthy conscionable $70 cardinal astatine the clip of the theft, but soared successful worth successful the pursuing years.

"Over the past 5 years, astir 25,000 of those stolen bitcoin were transferred retired of Lichtenstein's wallet via a analyzable wealth laundering process that ended with immoderate of the stolen funds being deposited into fiscal accounts controlled by Lichtenstein and Morgan," the DOJ said astatine the clip of their arrests.

Netflix successful aboriginal 2022 announced it had commissioned a bid connected the couple.