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New York couple accused of laundering $4.5 billion in crypto still in plea talks -Breaking

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© Reuters. FILE PHOTO – Photo Illustration of Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange site taken September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A couple from New York is still being negotiated a plea deal. They are currently reviewing over 1.1 gigabytes evidence and are accused of laundering $4.5 million in cryptocurrency in connection to Bitfinex’s 2016 hack.

Ilya Lichtenstein, 34 and Heather Morgan, 32 respectively, self-proclaimed “Crocodiles of Wall Street,” are due to make their appearance in federal court in Washington on Friday.

Federal prosecutors filed a request to delay the hearing to Aug. 2 in a court document on Monday U.S. Memorial Day. They said they wanted to discuss “possible resolutions of this case without trial” and that defendants needed to look at “voluminous financial information” handed over by government.

Morgan and Lichtenstein were both arrested on February 2nd and charged with conspiring to launder bitcoin. The money was stolen by Bitfinex hacker 2016 who initiated over 2,000 unauthorised transactions.

Officials from the U.S. Justice Department stated that the transaction was valued at $71,000,000 in bitcoin at the time. However, with the increase in currency value, it reached $4.5 Billion at the time they were arrested.

Morgan and Morgan had an active profile on the public, Morgan being known as rapper “Razzlekhan,” which she claimed was a reference to Genghis Khan but “with more pizzazz.”

The grand jury has yet not returned an indictment against them, even though prosecutors initially indicated that in March they were willing to suspend the Speedy Trial Act and discuss a possible deal.

Morgan was freed to go home, and Lichtenstein is currently being held without bond.

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