Netflix orders docuseries on crypto laundering couple

Netflix is gearing up to create a documentary series about the couple who allegedly laundered $4.5 billion worth of stolen Bitcoin (via Variety). This comes just days after Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan were arrested in connection with the crimes — and not long after many of us (regrettably) became aware of Morgan’s rapping alter-ego, Razzlekhan, aka the “Crocodile of Wall Street.”

The docuseries will be directed by Chris Smith, the executive producer behind the bizarre hit Tiger King and director of FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened. Nick Bilton, whose portfolio includes a documentary about the Theranos scandal, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, will serve as executive producer. Netflix didn’t provide any details about the series’ potential release date or cast members.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has accused Morgan and Lichtenstein of playing a part in the 2016 hack of crypto exchange Bitfinex, in which an unnamed hacker allegedly managed to transfer 119,756 Bitcoin to a wallet connected to Lichtenstein. The couple allegedly attempted to launder the stolen funds through a “labyrinth” of cryptocurrency transactions that included buying gold and NFTs. At the time, the stolen assets were valued at about $71 million — that number has since ballooned to $4.5 billion, making the DOJ’s $3.6 billion recovery the “largest financial seizure ever.”