On June 1, Prosecutors say they are still negotiating a possible plea deal with a New York couple accused of embezzling $4.5 billion in cryptocurrencies linked to Hack 2016 digital exchange Bitfinex while analyzing more than 1.1 gigabytes of evidence in a lawsuit.
A self-proclaimed “Crocodile of Wall Street,” Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, 34, and his wife, Heather Morgan, 32, were scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington on Friday.
Prosecutors have asked for the trial to be postponed until August 2 in a court hearing on Monday, U.S. Day, citing “discussions about possible decisions before the trial” and the need for defendants to review “major financial records” by the government.
In February, Lichtenstein and Morgan were arrested and charged with conspiracy to smuggle 119,754 bitcoin stolen after a hacker entered Bitfinex in 2016 and launched 2,000 illegal transactions.
The transaction was estimated at $ 71 million in bitcoin at the time of their arrest, according to US Department of Justice officials, but with the increase in the amount, the value had risen to $ 4.5 billion at the time of their arrest.
Morgan was known as the rapper “Razzlekhan,” a pseudonym not mentioned on his website linked to Genghis Khan “but with more pzazz,” and the two had active public profiles. After prosecutors announced in March that they had agreed to suspend the Speedy Trial Act to investigate the allegations, the chief justice failed to bring charges against the couple.
Morgan was released from custody, while Lichtenstein was detained without bail.
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