A computer expert who stole Bitcoin now worth billions of dollars has been sentenced to five years in prison.
Ilya Lichtenstein masterminded one of the largest-ever thefts from a virtual currency exchange before he and his wife, Heather Rhiannon Morgan, carried out an elaborate scheme to liquidate the stolen funds, according to federal prosecutors.
“He became one of the greatest money launderers that the government has encountered in the cryptocurrency space,” prosecutors wrote.
In August 2016, Lichtenstein hacked into a virtual currency exchange, Hong Kong-based Bitfinex, and stole approximately 120,000 bitcoins, reports the Associated Press.
