"Ilya Lichtenstein, who was sentenced to prison last year for money laundering charges in connection with his role in the massive hack of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016, said he has been released early. In a post shared on X last week, the 38-year-old announced his release, crediting U.S. President Donald Trump's First Step Act. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons' inmate locator, Lichtenstein is scheduled for release on February 9, 2026."
"The First Step Act, passed by the Trump administration in 2018, is a bipartisan legislation that aims to improve criminal justice outcomes and reduce the federal prison population through a series of reforms, including by establishing a "risk and needs assessment system" to determine the recidivism risk and chart a way forward for an early release in some cases. Lichtenstein and his wife, Heather Rhiannon "Razzlekhan" Morgan, pleaded guilty to the Bitfinex hack in 2023, following their arrest in February 2022."
Ilya Lichtenstein announced an early release from prison and credited the First Step Act for the outcome. The Federal Bureau of Prisons' inmate locator lists a scheduled release date of February 9, 2026. Lichtenstein stated a commitment to make a positive impact in cybersecurity and addressed supporters and critics. The First Step Act, passed in 2018, created a risk and needs assessment system to guide potential early releases. Lichtenstein and his wife pleaded guilty to the 2016 Bitfinex hack after their 2022 arrests. Law enforcement recovered approximately 94,000 bitcoin, and prosecutors sought to return assets to Bitfinex. Blockchain analysis attributed the theft to a multisignature withdrawal vulnerability.
Read at The Hacker News
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