TikTok finance influencer Heather Morgan arrested over $4.6B Bitcoin theft

A TikTok influencer and her husband have been arrested after allegedly attempting to launder a fortune after $4.6 billion worth of Bitcoin was stolen during a 2016 hack.

According to reports, Heather Morgan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein had obtained the Bitcoin fortune after a hacker gained access to Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and made a series of transactions.

Once the cryptocurrency was disposed into Lichtenstein’s digital wallet, officials claim the two spent five years laundering 119,754 Bitcoin.

A court order allowed officials to gain access to Lichtenstein’s online files and the keys to the wallet that contained the stolen cryptocurrency. Officials have since recovered $3.6b stolen during the hack.

The Department of Justice said the couple used their proceeds to purchase gold and NFTs, but the DOJ won’t specify which NFTs they had acquired.

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While the couple is accused of laundering the money, it’s important to note that they are not charged with the hack itself. It’s unclear if one individual was behind the theft or a large group.

On TikTok, Heather Morgan describes herself as a “Serial entrepreneur & SaaS investor. Writer, rapper &artist w/ synesthesia.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlSHGAem6g

Her rap catalog and YouTube videos consist of hits such as “Female Tech CEO Shuts Down Creeps.” Some of the videos have since been deleted, but have been reuploaded on other accounts.

The two have been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 and 5 years in prison respectively.