A Russian-American man whose theft of thousands of bitcoins was one of the largest in history has been sentenced to five years in a U.S. prison. U.S. prosecutors charged Ilya Lichtenstein with conspiracy and money laundering for his theft of around 120,000 bitcoins from the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016. Worth around $71 million at the time, the bitcoins are now worth 1,000 times that amount. Officials said Lichtenstein, who was born in Russia and raised in the United States, pleaded guilty last year, as did his wife, Heather Morgan, who helped him launder the funds, buying gold coins and shopping gift cards.
Russian-American Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison For Massive Bitcoin Theft
Lichtenstein's bitcoin theft was considered one of the largest in history, according to prosecutors.