The Crypto Couple, Heather Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, Were Arrested

Last Week on Charges that they Stole and Laundered Billions in Cryptocurrency

Los Angeles, CA – February 16, 2022 – Entertainment One (eOne) and Forbes Entertainment announced today a partnership to create multiple projects following the arrest last week of the so-called “crypto couple,” Heather Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, and the bitcoin money laundering scandal surrounding them. The projects include a scripted project co-produced by eOne, Forbes Entertainment and Tucker Tooley Entertainment, and a documentary co-produced by eOne and Forbes Entertainment.

The projects are based on Forbes’ reporting on the couple, the publication’s expertise in wealth and financial journalism and their unique perspective of having a relationship with Ms. Morgan, who, from July 2017 was a ForbesWomen Contributor on Forbes.com until Forbes ended its relationship with her September 2021.

"The Crypto Couple’s story reads like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde drama,” said Travis Collins, Director, Partnerships, Forbes Entertainment. “As the de-facto source of tracking wealth and publishing financial investigative journalism, Forbes can help bring this story to life in a way that few can do as authoritatively. Through this riveting narrative, we aim to help educate audiences about the cryptocurrency world, one that to many remains mysterious and ethereal.”

“With the combination of the elite reporting from Forbes and the incredible skills and passion of our producing partners, we feel uniquely situated to bring this story to life for global audiences,” said Michael Lombardo, eOne’s President of Global Television. “We look forward to telling this story across multiple formats together with Forbes.”

Production on the documentary project has already begun, including filming and extensive archival research into the story. Geno McDermott and Jordan Rosenblum are executive producers for Blackfin, an eOne company.

Tucker Tooley of Tucker Tooley Entertainment will executive produce the scripted project.

ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT ONE

Entertainment One Ltd. (eOne) is a talent-driven independent studio that specializes in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. As part of global play and entertainment company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS), eOne's expertise spans across film and television production and sales; production, distribution and brand management of kids and family properties; digital content; and immersive and live entertainment. Through its extensive reach and scale, and a deep commitment to high-quality entertainment, eOne unlocks the power and value of creativity.

eOne brings to market both original and existing content, sourcing IP from Hasbro’s portfolio of 1500+ brands, and through a diversified network of creative partners and eOne companies.

ABOUT BLACKFIN

BLACKFIN, an eOne company, was founded in 2014 by director and executive producer Geno McDermott. In 2021, Blackfin’s Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre (History) and Tiny Creatures (Netflix) earned 5 Emmy nominations, including winning Emmys for Outstanding Travel, Adventure and Daytime Program and Outstanding Cinematography for Tiny Creatures. Last year also saw our six-part epic docu-drama Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury (CNN) premiere at number one in cable news, and our long-running hit franchise The Murder Tapes (ID) had its 62nd episode go into production. Following the premiere of our investigative series Unseamly: The Investigation of Peter Nygard (Discovery+), Nygard was indicted for crimes including sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and other crimes, and shortly after the premiere of Onision: In Real Life (Discovery+), the infamous YouTuber was demonetized from the platform. 

Blackfin’s previous hit series include Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, which was viewed by over 18 million people in its first 10 days on Netflix, globe-trotting investigative series Finding Escobar’s Millions for Discovery, Chasing Ghislaine, I am Homicide and Homicide City for ID and many more.

ABOUT TUCKER TOOLEY ENTERTAINMENT

Tucker Tooley Entertainment is a feature film and television finance and production company. The company, which has a co-finance and co-development deal with Hasbro/Entertainment One, was established in 2016 by principals Tucker Tooley and Greg Renker. Tooley is a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as the Producers Guild of America. Prior to founding his company, Tooley was the President of Relativity Studios. His films have earned more than $2.5 billion worldwide.

Recent credits for Tucker Tooley Entertainment include CONCRETE COWBOY for Netflix starring Idris Elba, THE UNITED STATES VS BILLIE HOLIDAY for Hulu, which earned an Oscar nomination for lead actress Andra Day and was directed by Academy-Award nominee Lee Daniels. Its next film, ARTHUR THE KING, stars Mark Wahlberg and will be released in 2022. Upcoming Tucker Tooley Entertainment films include DEMON HOUSE, an elevated horror film directed by Lee Daniels, DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA starring Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson, Jr., and directed by Christian Gudegast, who returns for the successful heist thriller’s sequel and FINDING SATOSHI, a documentary exploring the origins of the mysterious founder of Bitcoin and the larger state of cryptocurrency from director Matthew Miele.