The confiscation of the Bitcoin that remained in Mr. Lichtenstein’s pockets on Feb. 1, price roughly $ 3.6 billion on the time, was the Justice Division’s largest monetary seizure ever, officers have stated. The case has been seen as a watershed within the regulation and maybe investigation of the murky and infrequently illicit world of cryptocurrency.
In reviewing the case towards the couple, Choose Howell appeared to conclude that Mr. Lichtenstein was more proficient in the kind of monetary sleight of hand wanted to launder the stolen funds and probably safe a future for the pair outdoors america. Given what she described as a familiarity with false identities and talent at transferring monetary property discreetly, Choose Howell expressed concern that Mr. Lichtenstein was a flight threat.
A lawyer representing the couple denied that they’d ever deliberate to flee, citing their household ties in america, in addition to the truth that they’d embryos frozen in New York in hopes of conceiving a baby, and that they’d not tried to depart the nation even after indications that they had been below investigation final 12 months.
However a prosecutor confused that whereas the federal government had secured the majority of the stolen funds, the couple had been recording transferring stolen cash between numerous cryptocurrencies and had the expertise with encrypted accounts essential to duck investigators in transferring property abroad.
Choose Howell expressed concern that Mr. Lichtenstein and Ms. Morgan had been being represented by the identical lawyer, particularly as she appeared to conclude that Mr. Lichtenstein’s involvement and planning far outweighed that of Ms. Morgan.