A new movie about the notorious $4 billion Bitfinex Bitcoin BTC/USD heist is in development by Amazon MGM Studio, set to depict the lives and crimes of convicted crypto thieves Heather "Razzlekhan" Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein.
What Happened: A report on Friday from Decrypt revealed that the still-untitled film will be helmed by director Hannah Marks and co-produced by Lili Reinhart. The script for the movie is based on a 2022 New York Times article, and the newspaper is also involved in the production through its partner, Anonymous Content.
The film will focus on Morgan and Lichtenstein, the admitted masterminds behind the 2016 hack of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange, who were arrested in 2022. The U.S. Department of Justice accused the duo of conspiracy in connection to a $4 billion theft and money laundering operation.
Morgan, who was known as “Razzlekhan” and worked as a rapper,and a cybersecurity professional prior to her arrest, and Lichtenstein confessed in court to stealing 120,900 Bitcoin. Despite agreeing to hand over their ill-gotten gains, they could still face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
Amazon has yet to announce additional details about the film’s production and release dates.
Why It Matters: Last year in August, Ilya confessed to being the original hacker responsible for the 2016 cyberattack on cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex.
Lichtenstein made this bombshell admission while pleading guilty to charges of laundering the stolen Bitcoin in a federal court in Washington, D.C. His wife, Morgan also entered a guilty plea on charges of money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States government.
Amazon MGM Studio did not respond to Benzinga’s request to comment at the time of publication.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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