Amazon MGM Studio is developing a movie based on the life of crypto thief Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan and her husband Ilya Lichtenstein, who in 2022 were charged with conspiracy by the U.S. Department of Justice related to a $4 billion heist and money laundering scheme.
First reported by Deadline on Friday, the still-unnamed film will be helmed by director Hannah Marks (“Don’t Make Me Go”), who also wrote the script, and co-produced by “Riverdale” alum Lili Reinhart. The script is inspired by a New York Times article from 2022, and the publication is participating in the production through partner Anonymous Content.
An Amazon spokesperson declined Decrypt’s request to comment further about the production or release date.
While details are still sparse, the film follows Morgan and Lichtenstein, who admitted to being behind the 2016 hack of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange after being arrested in 2022.
“In a futile effort to maintain digital anonymity, the defendants laundered stolen funds through a labyrinth of cryptocurrency transactions,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said at the time. “Thanks to the meticulous work of law enforcement, the department once again showed how it can and will follow the money, no matter what form it takes.”
Before her arrest, Morgan was an aspiring rapper going by the “Razzlekahn” moniker while also writing as a Forbes contributor and working in the cybersecurity field.
The couple appeared before a Washington, D.C. judge last summer and admitted to stealing 120,900 Bitcoin, around $3.6 billion at the time. The couple agreed to forfeit their illicit gains but could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. The Justice Department said in August 2023 that it recovered another $475 million tied to the heist.
Since her arrest two years ago, Morgan has disavowed any involvement with the cryptocurrency and NFT space.
I am not involved in any crypto project. Any crypto or NFT project bearing my name or likeness is a scam that I do not endorse.
— Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan (@HeatherReyhan) August 23, 2022
In February 2022, NFTs featuring Razzlekhan disappeared from the NFT marketplace OpenSea. The two missing NFTs were album covers for some of Morgan’s Razzlekhan music videos, called “Versace Bedouin” and “Social Distance.”
Morgan has not yet responded to Decrypt’s request for comment.
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.
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Source: https://decrypt.co/214436/razzlekhan-amazon-bitfinex-bitcoin-heist-movie
