- A Florida-based negotiator hired to help ransomware victims secretly aided BlackCat attackers and even deployed the ransomware himself.
- Prosecutors revealed that he shared confidential client information, conspired with co-conspirators and laundered more than $1 million in Bitcoin.
- All three defendants pleaded guilty, with sentencing dates set for mid-2026 and potential prison sentences of up to 20 years
A cybersecurity professional hired by ransomware victims to negotiate with the attackers admitted to actually helping the threat actors, as well as deploying the ransomware himself, it was reported earlier this week.
According to a press release issued by the US Department of Justice, Angelo Martino, 41, of Land O’Lakes, Florida, was hired in 2023 by five different companies to help negotiate the release of the decryption key and stolen files, with the operators of the infamous BlackCat ransomware.
Instead of doing this, Martino shared sensitive inside information with the scammers, helping them maximize their demands: “Martino provided BlackCat attackers with confidential information about the trading position and strategy of his company’s clients without the clients’ or his employer’s knowledge or permission,” the DOJ said. “This confidential information aided the ransomware actors and maximized the ransoms victims were required to pay. The confidential information included victims’ insurance policy limits and internal negotiating positions.”
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Martino was rewarded for his efforts by the BlackCat gang.
This is the latest development in the case which was first reported in November 2025. At the time, a US federal indictment was filed in the Southern District of Florida against two defendants – Ryan Clifford Goldberg of Georgia and Kevin Tyler Martin of Texas, and a third unnamed co-conspirator (who we now know to be Martino), stating that the trio hacked into the company’s networks, stole data, encrypted it with the ransomware ALPHV (BlackCat) and demanded ransoms in cryptocurrency.
At the time, it was reported that Martin and Martino both worked at DigitalMint, while Goldberg was a former Sygnia incident response manager.
Martino also admitted to conspiring with Goldberg and Martin to deploy BlackCat against several U.S.-based victims, netting, and then laundering, approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin. The DoJ said that so far it has seized $10 million in assets from Martino, including digital currency, vehicles, a food truck and a luxury fishing boat that Martino obtained through criminal activity.
All three pleaded guilty. Martin and Goldberg expect to be sentenced later this month, while Martino is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9, 2026. All three face sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
Via Hacker news
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