The self-styled “Crocodile of Wall Street,” Heather Morgan, was sentenced to 18 months for helping her husband Ilya Lichtenstein launder roughly $13 billion worth of stolen Bitcoin from the 2016 Bitfinex hack. However, her recent claims that U.S. President Donald Trump commuted her sentence have been thoroughly debunked by multiple news outlets and even contradicted by her own subsequent statements.
The Viral Bathtub Video and Rapid Backtrack
In a bizarre Instagram video filmed in a bathtub, Morgan shouted out “Papa Trump” for making her 18-month sentence shorter. The clip, posted in late October 2025, quickly went viral. But within days, reporters at Bitcoin.com and other publications found no evidence of a presidential commutation or executive clemency. About a week later, Morgan uploaded a new post, provided via her lawyers, where she appeared to walk back the implied claim. She said that many people—including journalists—do not understand how the legal system handles sentencing credits and early release programs.
She clarified that her sentence reduction came from two laws: the First Step Act (FSA), signed by Trump in 2018, and the Second Chance Act (SCA), originally signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2008. “Every day you take FSA classes, you get 15 days off every month,” Morgan explained. Additionally, a May 2025 memo from the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), issued under Trump-appointed Director William “Billy” Marshall III, instructed staff to transfer eligible inmates to home confinement “as soon as statutorily possible.” Previously, inmates could serve up to 10% of their sentence (max six months) in home confinement. The new directive allowed Morgan to receive more than 10%.
What Home Confinement Really Means
While Morgan called this a “Papa Trump” favor, experts emphasized that home confinement remains BOP custody. Inmates typically wear ankle monitors, must obtain permission for work or medical appointments, and are subject to random drug tests and inspections. David Boyer, partner at Evergreen Attorneys, noted: “There are often strict restrictions such as GPS location monitoring, random drug tests, random inspections, curfews, etc.”
BOP records confirm Morgan’s release date is still December 28, 2025, and she has not been pardoned or commuted. Bitcoin.com reached out to her law firm for further comment, but received no response by publication time.
Key Facts
- Did Trump commute Morgan’s sentence? No evidence exists of a presidential commutation.
- Why was her time shortened? She credited FSA education credits and SCA home-confinement reforms.
- Who created those programs? FSA was Trump’s 2018 law; SCA was Bush’s 2008 law.
- Is Morgan free? She remains under home-confinement supervision until December 2025.