Ilya Lichtenstein 因 2016 年 Bitfinex 駭客事件被判處 5 年監禁

利希滕斯坦因參與洗錢計畫而被指控，該計畫導致加密貨幣交易所近 12 萬枚比特幣（按當前價格計算價值超過 105 億美元）被盜。

A man who pleaded guilty to hacking cryptocurrency stock exchange Bitfinex in 2016 and stealing nearly 120,000 bitcoins has been sentenced to five years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced Thursday.

美國司法部 (DoJ) 週四宣布，一名承認 2016 年入侵加密貨幣證券交易所 Bitfinex 並竊取近 12 萬比特幣的男子被判處五年監禁。

Ilya Lichtenstein, 35, was charged for his involvement in a money laundering scheme that led to the theft of over $10.5 billion (as per current prices) from the crypto exchange. His wife, Heather Rhiannon Morgan, also pleaded guilty to the same crimes last year. They were both arrested in February 2022. Morgan is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18.

35 歲的伊利亞·利希滕斯坦 (Ilya Lichtenstein) 因參與洗錢計劃而被指控，該計劃導致加密貨幣交易所被盜超過 105 億美元（按當前價格計算）。他的妻子希瑟·瑞安農·摩根去年也承認同樣的罪行。他們均於 2022 年 2 月被捕。

"Lichtenstein hacked into Bitfinex's network in 2016, using advanced hacking tools and techniques," the DoJ said in a press statement. "Once inside the network, Lichtenstein fraudulently authorized more than 2,000 transactions transferring 119,754 bitcoin from Bitfinex to a cryptocurrency wallet in Lichtenstein's control."

美國司法部在新聞聲明中表示：“利希滕斯坦於 2016 年使用先進的駭客工具和技術入侵了 Bitfinex 的網路。” 「一旦進入網絡，Lichtenstein 就欺詐性地授權了 2,000 多筆交易，將 119,754 比特幣從 Bitfinex 轉移到 Lichtenstein 控制的加密貨幣錢包中。”

The couple used fictitious identities to set up online banking accounts to launder the proceeds, depositing them in darknet markets and cryptocurrency exchanges, the DOJ said. The funds were eventually withdrawn, converted to other cryptocurrencies (a technique referred to as chain hopping), depositing a chunk of the ill-gotten assets into mixing services like Bitcoin Fog, converting them to fiat currency and moving to a U.S. bank account, and exchanging a portion of the crypto for gold coins.

美國司法部表示，這對夫妻使用虛構身份設立網路銀行帳戶來洗錢，並將其存入暗網市場和加密貨幣交易所。這些資金最終被撤回，轉換為其他加密貨幣（一種稱為鏈跳的技術），將大量不義之財存入比特幣霧等混合服務中，將其轉換為法定貨幣並轉移到美國銀行帳戶，以及將一部分加密貨幣兌換成金幣。

The development comes days after Roman Sterlingov, the 36-year-old founder of Bitcoin Fog, was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for facilitating money laundering activities between 2011 and 2021. Earlier this year, Lichtenstein had testified in court that he had used Bitcoin Fog 10 times to launder the virtual assets.

幾天前，36 歲的比特幣霧創始人羅曼·斯特林戈夫(Roman Sterlingov) 因在2011 年至2021 年期間協助洗錢活動而被判處12 年零6 個月的監禁。 ，利希滕斯坦在法庭上作證說，他曾使用比特幣霧洗錢 10 次。

Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis previously revealed how the couple's purchase of Walmart gift cards using the stolen bitcoin at an unnamed virtual currency exchange eventually proved to be their undoing, after it was found that the gift cards were redeemed using the retail giant's iPhone app under an account in Heather Morgan's name.

區塊鏈分析公司Chainaanalysis 先前透露，這對夫婦在一家未具名的虛擬貨幣交易所使用被盜的比特幣購買沃爾瑪禮品卡，最終證明他們的失敗，因為發現這些禮品卡是使用零售巨頭的iPhone 應用程序在一個帳戶下兌換的。

"That enabled agents to get a search warrant for Lichtenstein and Morgan's home and cloud storage accounts, where they found files containing details of the cryptocurrency addresses used to move the stolen funds — including their private keys — along with the false information used to open accounts at cryptocurrency exchanges and plans to acquire fake passports," Chainalysis said.

「這使得特工獲得了對利希滕斯坦和摩根的家庭和雲端儲存帳戶的搜查令，他們在其中發現了包含用於轉移被盜資金的加密貨幣地址詳細資訊（包括他們的私鑰）的文件，以及用於開設帳戶的虛假資訊加密貨幣交易所併計劃獲取假護照，」Chainaanalysis 表示。

"That discovery enabled investigators to trace the flow of funds in its entirety."

“這一發現使調查人員能夠追踪整個資金流向。”

According to the Associated Press, Morgan is a business owner and writer. She also adopted the alter ego Razzlekhan to perform rap songs and record videos for her music. The pair had been living in San Francisco at the time of the hack.

據美聯社報道，摩根是一名企業主和作家。她還採用了另一個自我 Razzlekhan 來表演說唱歌曲並為她的音樂錄製視頻。駭客入侵時，兩人一直住在舊金山。

"Lichtenstein masterminded and orchestrated the Bitfinex hack without telling [Morgan]," prosecutors said. "He also initially solicited the defendant's assistance without explaining exactly what he was doing. The defendant was certainly a willing participant and bears full responsibility for her actions, but she was a lower-level participant."

檢察官表示：“利希滕斯坦在沒有告訴[摩根]的情況下策劃並策劃了 Bitfinex 黑客事件。” 「他最初還請求被告協助，但沒有具體解釋自己在做什麼。被告當然是自願的參與者，並對她的行為承擔全部責任，但她是較低級別的參與者。”

The sentencing also follows a guilty plea from Daren Li, 41, for partaking in a criminal scheme to launder $73.6 million stolen through cryptocurrency investment scams using a network of shell companies and international bank accounts. Li was arrested back in April 2024 at Atlanta. He is expected to be sentenced next March.

41 歲的李達人 (Daren Li) 認罪，罪名是參與一項犯罪計劃，利用空殼公司和國際銀行帳戶網絡透過加密貨幣投資詐騙洗白被盜的 7,360 萬美元。李於 2024 年 4 月在亞特蘭大被捕。預計他將於明年三月被判刑。

"Li admitted that he conspired with others to launder funds obtained from victims through cryptocurrency scams and related fraud," the DoJ said. "In furtherance of the conspiracy, he communicated with his co-conspirators through encrypted messaging services."

美國司法部表示：“李承認他與其他人合謀，通過加密貨幣詐騙和相關欺詐對受害者獲得的資金進行洗錢。” “為了推進陰謀，他透過加密訊息服務與同謀進行溝通。”

"In order to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the fraudulently obtained victim funds, Li would instruct co-conspirators to open U.S. bank accounts established on behalf of shell companies and would monitor the receipt and execution of interstate and international wire transfers of victim funds."

「為了隱瞞或掩飾騙取的受害者資金的性質、地點、來源、所有權和控制權，李某會指示共謀開設以空殼公司名義設立的美國銀行帳戶，並監控詐騙資金的接收和執行。受害者資金的州際和國際電匯。

The funds were subsequently deposited to financial accounts under their control, after which they would be converted to virtual currency like Tether, and distributed to wallets owned by Li and his co-conspirators. ​​Li faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

這些資金隨後存入他們控制下的金融帳戶，然後轉換為 Tether 等虛擬貨幣，並分發到李及其同謀擁有的錢包。李面臨最高20年監禁的刑罰。

"Financial criminals and the money launderers who enable them wreak untold harm, ruining lives in the process," said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. "Investors should be diligent and on guard against anyone offering quick riches via new, exotic investments. A healthy dose of skepticism could prevent financial ruin down the road."

加州中區聯邦檢察官馬丁·埃斯特拉達 (Martin Estrada) 表示：“金融犯罪分子和洗錢者造成了難以估量的傷害，並在此過程中毀掉了人們的生活。” “投資者應該勤奮，警惕任何透過新的、奇異的投資提供快速致富的人。適當的懷疑態度可以防止未來的財務崩潰。”