'Razzlekhan' asks judge to access crypto wallet for tax purposes

Quick Take

  • Heather Morgan, also known by her rapper moniker “Razzlekhan,” and her husband are accused of laundering billions in stolen bitcoin. 
  • In a filing Morgan’s lawyer asked a judge permission for Morgan to access her crypto wallets to assess the couple’s tax burdens. 

Heather Morgan, one half of the couple accused of laundering $4.5 billion in stolen bitcoin, has asked a judge for permission to access her cryptocurrency wallets in order to calculate her and her husband's tax liabilities. 

Morgan's lawyer, Eugene Gorokhov, filed to seek clarification from the court to clarify whether Morgan could access her wallets without violating pretrial conditions. 

"To determine her tax liability, Ms. Morgan must access specific cryptocurrency wallets in order to calculate income from the sales of cryptocurrency assets," the filing, dated Sept. 12, reads. "Undersigned counsel has discussed this issue with the government and the government understands Ms. Morgan’s need to access this information."

The government has no objection to the request, according to the filing.

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U.S. authorities arrested Morgan along with her husband and co-defendant Ilya Lichtenstein in February of this year over allegations that the couple allegedly laundered billions in bitcoin from crypto exchange Bitfinex. They are prohibited from engaging in cryptocurrency transactions as they await trial.

If found guilty by trial, the pair faces up to 25 years for charges including conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. After their initial hearings earlier this year, the couple were released on a collective $8 million bail and sought a stay in the proceedings to discuss possible plea deals with prosecutors.

Since then, Morgan has received permission to seek employment. She also recently broke a six-month silence when she took to Twitter to state that any crypto or non-fungible token project with her likeness is a scam that she does not endorse. 


© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

About Author

Aislinn Keely is a reporter on The Block's policy team holding down the legal beat. She covers court decisions, bankruptcies, regulatory actions and other key moments in the legal sphere, putting them in context for the wider crypto industry. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV and helmed Fordham University's student newspaper. Send tips or thoughts on all things policy and legal to [email protected] or follow her on Twitter for updates @AislinnKeely.