Ilya Lichtenstein, who orchestrated the theft of over $11 billion worth of Bitcoin from crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016, is out of prison years ahead of schedule—and credits President Donald Trump with the early release.
A Trump administration official confirmed to Decrypt on Monday that Lichtenstein is in fact out of prison.
“This individual has served significant time on his sentence and is currently on home confinement consistent with statute and Bureau of Prisons policies,” the official said.
The official did not respond to further inquiries regarding whether the White House played any role in securing Lichtenstein’s early release.
“To the supporters, thank you for everything,” Lichtenstein said. “To the haters, I look forward to proving you wrong.”
It is not clear whether Lichtenstein qualified as elderly or terminally ill, or had accumulated sufficient good time credit to be pre-released barely a year after receiving his sentence. The Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s request for comment on the matter.
Upon her own release from prison in October, Lichtenstein’s wife, the rapper Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan, thanked President Trump for the early exit—but made no mention of the First Step Act.
At the time, a White House official told Decrypt that Morgan’s early release was “not due to a commutation from the president.”
