The 'Crocodile of Wall Street' and Her Husband Face Trial

Words fail when describing the infamous crypto couple who allegedly laundered $4.5 billion. He’s behind bars and she’s put her raunchy rap videos on hold, but Hollywood is calling. That’s why Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein share a spot on CoinDesk’s Most Influential 2022.

AccessTimeIconDec 5, 2022 at 12:49 p.m. UTC
Updated Sep 28, 2023 at 2:27 p.m. UTC
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Heather Morgan is many things: a Forbes contributor, a tech entrepreneur and an alleged criminal. After her arrest for alleged crypto money laundering, another persona was discovered: Razzlekhan, a campy YouTube rapper who declared herself the “Crocodile of Wall Street.”

Publications from BuzzFeed to the Washington Post have profiled the raunchy rapper about her alleged billion-dollar frauds. And Vanity Fair has billed her as one-half of crypto's Bonnie and Clyde – a title she's earned with her husband and partner in crime, Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein.

Morgan and Lichtenstein await trial for their alleged involvement in a 2016 plot to launder roughly $4.5 billion in cryptocurrencies stolen from Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Bitfinex in a notorious hack. Though they were not charged with pulling off the hack itself, the couple were arrested and charged back in February with conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Heather Morgan, from her video "Rap Anthem for Misfits & Weirdos: Versace Bedouin Music Video (2019)" (Razzlekhan on YouTube)
Heather Morgan, from her video "Rap Anthem for Misfits & Weirdos: Versace Bedouin Music Video (2019)" (Razzlekhan on YouTube)

Despite their mounting legal troubles, Razzlekhan has kept busy while out on bail, maintaining her Forbes column, among other things. Dutch, a Russian émigré, has remained behind bars awaiting trial, an enigma seemingly overshadowed by his larger-than-life wife. And due to America’s strange fascination with odd crimes and even odder criminals, her star may soon be on the rise.

Razzlekhan's legal troubles have paved a path for her to step before the white-hot klieg lights she seems to have always coveted, and where she's receiving the full Hollywood treatment.

Hulu is producing a true-crime limited series about Razzlekhan's life starring Lily Collins. Meanwhile, Netflix has ordered a docuseries on the suspected shyster.

Infamy is still fame, right?

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Elizabeth Napolitano

Elizabeth Napolitano was a news reporter at CoinDesk.


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