Razzlekhan could do financial crime, but Anna Delvey couldn’t do a song about summoning a ‘genie on a jizz stained rug’
“This song is for the entrepreneurs and hackers, all the misfits and smart slackers.” This is the opening line of “Versace Bedouin”, a 2019 “anthem” by the rapper, artist, and accused money laundering wannabe Razzlekhan, and it hasn’t aged well.
On Tuesday (February 8) the self-styled “Crocodile of Wall Street”, real name Heather Morgan, was arrested in Manhattan over her alleged connection to bitcoin stolen in a 2016 hack of the currency exchange Bitfinex. Alongside her husband – fellow tech entrepreneur and “occasional magician” Ilya ‘Dutch’ Lichtenstein – she is accused of conspiring to launder stolen cryptocurrency that currently equates to billions of dollars.
If found guilty, the pair face up to 20 years in prison, on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering. “Cryptocurrency is not a safe haven for criminals,” reads a press release from the US Department of Justice shared in the wake of the arrest, reflecting the US government’s commitment to cracking down on corruption in the crypto community. “We will not allow cryptocurrency to be a safe haven for money laundering or a zone of lawlessness within our financial system.”
At a bail hearing, meanwhile, a defence attorney has called the charges “thin” and rejected the authorities’ claims, adding: “I don’t think you’ll find that billions of dollars have been laundered.”
As the case unfolds, however, onlookers are much less interested in the legal details than they are in Morgan’s online persona, Razzlekhan. This is understandable. After all, it’s Razzlekhan who called herself the “Waffle Queen of Korea”, released woeful raps like “Gilfalicious”, and created art that “resembles something in between an acid trip and a delightful nightmare” (her words).
In that spirit, we’ve gathered everything you need to know about Morgan and her apparent involvement in the $4.5 billion bitcoin scandal, and what better way to do that than through the rapper’s own words (i.e. the lyrics to her anthem, “Versace Bedouin”)? Take it away, Razzlekhan.
“I’m many things / A rapper, an economist, a journalist / A writer, a CEO / And a dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty ho.”
Wondering how all those syllables fit into one line? They don’t, casting some doubt on the following claim that she’s: “Better than most writers, creepier than most girls.” However, Morgan is, undeniably, “many things”. According to her LinkedIn profile, she’s founded several companies alongside Lichtenstein, including an investment business called DemandPath and, ironically, the blockchain-based cybersecurity company Endpass.
Morgan has also been a contributor for reputable financial publications such as Inc. and Forbes, where in 2020 she published – more irony incoming – an article titled “Experts Share Tips to Protect Your Business from Cybercriminals”. Of course, there’s also her artistic career, which falls under the banner of Razzle World. Her creative roles include rapper, fashion designer, and surrealist artist, with influences listed on her website including Tierra Whack, Die Antwoord, Salvador Dalí, Hunter S Thompson, and Charles Bukowski.
Morgan’s extensive online presence has shrunk over the last few days, as her various social media accounts have been made private (wonder why?). You can still find her on TikTok though, where she shares lifestyle tips, motivational freestyles, and Molly-Mae-style tales of girlbossery.
“I’ve got pilot blood / A real risk-taker / Pirate riding the flood / A real money maker.”
You’ve got to hand it to Morgan, she wasn’t lying. In total, 119,754 bitcoin were stolen after a hacker broke into Bitfinex in 2016, with the theft then valued at $71 million, before the price of the cryptocurrency skyrocketed. As detailed by the DOJ, this bitcoin was siphoned out in more than 2,000 unauthorised transactions, which went directly to a wallet that dispersed funds between Morgan and Lichtenstein.
Attempting to wash $4.5 billion in stolen bitcoin does make you both a “real risk-taker” and a “real money maker”. Unfortunately for the Razzle empire, the risk didn’t pay off this time. The DOJ says that the case marks its “largest financial seizure ever”, with more than 94,000 bitcoin (or around $3.6 billion) seized from the digital wallet controlled by Lichtenstein.
So, where did the remaining 25,000 bitcoin go? Apparently, it was transferred out of the wallet “via a complicated money laundering process” over the last five years, with proceeds spent on everything from NFTs – who’d have guessed? – to gold, Uber rides, a Playstation console, Walmart vouchers, and hotels.
“Razzlekhan, the Versace Bedouin / Come real far but I don’t know where I’m headed.”
It’s unclear exactly how far Razzlekhan has come, since her background is fairly mysterious, with the rapper herself floating several origin stories. In “Versace Bedouin” for example, she raps, “This bitch is Turkish”, and labels herself “the Turkish Martha Stewart” in another song. However, the bio on her website suggests that: “No one knows for sure where this rapper’s from… could be the North African desert, the jungles of Vietnam, or another universe.”
“Razzlekhan is like Genghis Khan, but with more pizzazz,” she adds, which clarifies nothing.
What we do, unfortunately, know is where Morgan and Lichtenstein will be headed if they’re found guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison (as outlined by the DOJ). Added to that is a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, which could add up to five years to their stay behind bars.
Presumably, Netflix is already knocking at the door for the rights to the story as well, given its previous appetite for a true crime story with a cast of bizarre criminals. The Crocodile of Wall Street, coming 2023.