Simply over a yr after being sentenced to 5 years in jail for the theft of billions of dollars in Bitcoin, hacker Ilya Lichtenstein is free. Lichtenstein introduced his launch in a publish on X, particularly crediting Trump: “Due to President Trump’s First Step Act, I’ve been launched from jail early. I stay dedicated to creating a constructive influence in cybersecurity as quickly as I can.”
The First Step Act Lichtenstein referenced is a prison justice reform invoice handed in 2018 throughout the first Trump administration and expands choices for early launch, corresponding to earned time credit. A Trump administration official confirmed the early launch in a statement to CNBC, claiming that Lichtenstein “has served important time on his sentence and is at the moment on residence confinement according to statute and Bureau of Prisons insurance policies.”
Lichtenstein’s spouse, Heather Morgan, replied to his announcement post with a photograph of the 2 of them. Morgan, who some may know because the notorious rapper “Razzlekhan” or “the Crocodile of Wall Road,” was additionally charged for the scheme to launder billions of {dollars} price of Bitcoin stolen within the 2016 hack of crypto alternate Bitfinex. She was solely sentenced to 18 months in jail, however was additionally apparently launched early, a improvement she announced from her bathtub in a publish on X in October. Morgan and Lichtenstein weren’t arrested for the hack till 2022. The duo have since change into the topic of a Netflix docuseries and an upcoming film.