Netflix to Picture The Biggest Crypto Crime Ever

The biggest crypto-related money laundering case in history caught the attention of Netflix. 

The company ordered the documentary series depicting the case of Bitfinex crypto exchange hack in 2016 when 120,000 Bitcoins were stolen. The announcement came just days after the arrest of the married hacker couple, already labeled as “crypto Bonnie and Clyde”.

Ilya Lichtenstein (34) and his wife, Heather Morgan (31), possibly stole 119,754 bitcoins from a cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016. The amount was worth around $71 million at the time and nearly $5 billion following the current BTC price.

The crypto “Bonnie and Clyde” were arrested on February 8, for alleged conspiracy to launder billions in stolen cryptos after a hacker breached Bitfinex’s systems and initiated more than 2,000 unauthorized transactions.

During the past 5 years, around 25K of stolen Bitcoins moved through complicated money laundering schemes, some of which ended up being deposited into accounts controlled by Morgan and Lichtenstein.

Millions of dollars were cashed out via the Bitcoin ATMs or transferred to buy gold, NFTs, or even Walmart gift cards.

The rest amount of around 94K of stolen Bitcoins remained locked in the cryptocurrency wallet, which special agents managed to seize. The value of the recovered crypto surpassed $3.6 billion at the time of the seizure. 

According to the Department of Justice report, the “crypto Bonnie and Clyde” are charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Both charges might carry the maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

In the meantime, Netflix will reconstruct the case and investigation of the biggest financial crime case in history. 

According to the announcement, the new documentary series will be directed by an experienced team of filmmaker Chris Smith, the creator of  “FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened” and docuseries sensation “Tiger King”. Nick Bilton, the man behind “Fake Famous”, and “American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road” will is announced to collaborate as an executive producer of the new Netflix documentary series.