Ex-Cybersecurity Workers Who Aided BlackCat Ransomware Get Four-Year Prison Terms

Overview

• Ryan Goldberg of Georgia and Kevin Martin of Texas, sentenced Thursday to four years each, admitted to a 2023 extortion conspiracy using ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware.
• They acted as affiliates between April and December 2023, agreed to give 20% of any ransom to BlackCat’s operators, and split about $1.2 million in bitcoin from one victim after laundering the proceeds.
• Victims tied to their attacks included a Florida medical company, a Maryland pharmaceutical firm, a California doctor’s office, a California engineering company, and a Virginia drone maker.
• Co-conspirator Angelo Martino pleaded guilty in April and admitted abusing his role as a ransomware negotiator by sharing confidential insurance and bargaining details to raise payouts, with sentencing set for July 9.
• The FBI built a decryptor and seized BlackCat sites in December 2023, which DOJ says saved about $99 million for victims, and agents later tracked Goldberg through 10 countries before his arrest in Mexico City.