The much-awaited docudrama named Biggest Heist Ever was released on Netflix on December 6, 2024. Ever since its release, Biggest Heist Ever has outlined multiple unanswered questions linked to the $4.5 billion cryptocurrency heist. Since, it is a documentary, Biggest Heist Ever is a true story that chronicles the 2016 Bitfinex heist during which hackers wiped out bitcoins worth $4.5 billion. For the unversed, Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange owned and operated by iFinex Inc, and is registered in the British Virgin Islands. A couple in the US named Heather Morgan aka rapper Razzlekhan and her 'hacker' husband Ilya Lichtenstein have been convicted in the case.
Since you have landed on this page, True Scoop News assumes that you have already watched the docudrama on Netflix and wondering about Biggest Heist Ever Real Story or Biggest Heist Ever True Story. Moreover how the US Feds busted Heather and Ilya in the biggest digital robbery ever. Below is all you need to know about the Biggest Heist Ever Real Story-
Who were Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan?
Ilya Lichtenstein was a tech person before he met Heather Morgan after she secured an investment from an investor. However, they both fell in love with each other and later shifted to New York abruptly and started living luxurious life together. After years of being on surveillance by the US Feds, Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan were both arrested in February 2022. Ilya Lichtenstein has been in prison since his arrest. He was sentenced to five years in prison on November 15, 2024 after pleading guilty to hacking Bitfinex’s network and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
On the other hand, Heather Morgan aka Razzlekhan who wasn’t involved in the actual hack, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan's 'Gift Card' mistake
Notably, US feds had to take the help of Christopher Janczewski to break the crypto heist case. As per reports, Janczewski is assigned to the Cyber Crimes Unit in Washington, DC. He has been a special agent since 2009. Before that, he conducted audits for the IRS.
Notably, Ilya and Heather were on radar of Feds for many years, but authorities could not develop a strong case to pin their involvement in the 2016 Bitfinex heist. However, Ilya and Heather's one 'silly' mistake help the US Feds establish a ground to search their premises with a legal warrant. Below is what happened and how it unfolded in details-
Heather Morgan's mistake
Ilya and Heather announced to get married in 2021. In the documentary, James, Heather's friend revealed, "In the wedding, there was this raffle that happened. Ilya announced that he was giving away like an iPhone and a PlayStation. And, they also gave away some gift cards."
Christopher Janczewski, said, "We found out they had purchased prepaid gift cards with Bitcoin."
"You realised the desperation is growing because at this point they have been holding onto the stolen bitcoin for about 5 years. It's like, hey, it does not have to be a lot. We just wasn't to move some of this into traditional currency," said ARI REDBORD, Head of Legal | TRM LABS.
"It's easy to just be like, 'why would you do that?' Everybody knows to not use a gift card that links back to your name and address. But, I can imagine with like each passing day, the thought of getting caught probably was reduced. Maybe they thought that the money is clean, that it has been laundered, and they can overtly use it. But with laundering, you have to be perfect every time. You cant make mistakes....So we were able to trace the gift cards back to Mr. Lichtenstein and Miss Morgan," added Christopher Janczewski.
For the unversed, investigative agencies can watch the wallet with bitcoins but they cannot seize the money without private keys.
"Private keys are just like passwords. If you own those, you own the control of the cryptocurrency. They can be as many atoms in the known universe as there are potential guesses for the private keys."
How difficult is it to crack crypto private keys?
As per the Netflix documentary, Bilton said, "An agent who works for the FBI told me it would take 13 billion years for a computer to guess the right password. So, finding that password becomes essentially the holy grail of this case."
Christopher Janczewski then said, "We determined that we had enough probable cause to be able to do a search warrant on Mr. Lichtenstein and Miss Morgan's residence." On January 5, 2022, the Feds raided the couple's flat. "We were hoping we would find the private keys. It was early in the morning I believe that we woke them both up...," narrated Chris.
During the raid, the authorities asked if they could go out for a few hours until they searched their apartment. Heather asked the authorities if it was okay if she got her cat. "Apparently the cat was scared, so we let Miss Morgan try to get the cat from under the bed," narrated Chris.
However, what Heather was doing was 'she had grabbed her phone, and she was quickly pressing all the buttons to try to lock it'.