A man at the centre of one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts in history has been released from prison earlier than expected. Ilya Lichtenstein, the Russian-American who helped steal nearly 120,000 bitcoin from the Bitfinex exchange, announced his early release, crediting a prison reform law enacted during Donald Trump's presidency.
From Prison to Home Confinement
Ilya Lichtenstein, 38, shared the news on his official X account. He stated his release was made possible by the First Step Act, a law signed by former President Donald Trump in December 2018. Lichtenstein had been sentenced in November 2024 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge linked to the 2016 Bitfinex hack.
An official from the Trump administration confirmed that Lichtenstein has served a significant part of his sentence and is now on home confinement, which is allowed under federal prison regulations. The value of the stolen bitcoin, which was initially worth tens of millions, has ballooned to billions of dollars today.
A Family Reunited After Guilty Pleas
Lichtenstein's wife, Heather Morgan, who also pleaded guilty for her role in laundering the stolen crypto funds, was released early as well. Morgan had been sentenced to 18 months in prison and began her term in February. She announced her release in a video posted in late October.
Celebrating their reunion, Morgan reposted her husband's message on her X account, calling it the best New Year's gift after four years apart. She included a smiling selfie of the couple. In her video, she personally thanked Trump, saying, "It is very good to be back, and I want to give a shout-out to Papa Trump for making my 18-month sentence shorter."
Trump's Crypto Crime Clemency Trend
The early releases come amid a series of high-profile pardons and sentence reductions issued by Donald Trump since his return to office, many involving figures in the cryptocurrency and cybercrime world. This pattern includes a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, founder of the dark web marketplace Silk Road, and for Changpeng Zhao, the founder of the Binance exchange who pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering violations.
The First Step Act is designed to reduce the federal inmate population by allowing certain prisoners to earn early release or transfer to home confinement based on good behaviour and risk assessments. It remains unclear if Trump or the White House intervened directly in Lichtenstein's or Morgan's cases.
In his statement, Lichtenstein expressed gratitude for the early release and indicated a desire to move forward positively, hoping to work in the field of cybersecurity. He thanked his supporters and stated his intention to prove his critics wrong.
