Federal prosecutors within the U.S. have accused a trio of allegedly hacking the networks of 5 U.S. firms with BlackCat (aka ALPHV) ransomware between Could and November 2023 and extorting them.
Ryan Clifford Goldberg, Kevin Tyler Martin, and an unnamed co–conspirator (aka “Co-Conspirator 1”) primarily based in Florida, all U.S. nationals, are stated to have used the ransomware pressure towards a medical gadget firm primarily based in Tampa, Florida, a pharmaceutical firm primarily based in Maryland, a health care provider’s workplace primarily based in California, an engineering firm primarily based in California, and a drone producer primarily based in Virginia.
The Chicago Solar-Occasions first reported the indictment over the weekend, stating Martin and Co-Conspirator 1 have been employed as ransomware menace negotiators for an organization named DigitalMint on the time when these incidents passed off. Goldberg was an incident response supervisor for cybersecurity firm Sygnia.
All three people are not working on the respective companies, with each DigitalMint and Sygnia stating they’ve cooperated with legislation enforcement on the matter. In July 2025, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was trying right into a former worker of DigitalMint for supposedly taking a reduce from ransomware funds.
In response to the indictment doc, Goldberg, Martin, and the co-conspirator have been accused of wilfully participating in a conspiracy to “enrich” themselves by accessing victims’ networks or computer systems in an unauthorized method, stealing their knowledge, putting in the BlackCat ransomware on their methods in trade for a cryptocurrency fee, and dividing the illicit proceeds amongst them –
- Round Could 13, 2023, the defendants attacked the medical gadget agency and demanded an approximate $10,000,000 ransom fee. The corporate ended up paying digital foreign money value roughly $1,274,000 on the time of fee.
- Round Could 2023, the defendants attacked the agency and demanded an unspecified quantity as ransom.
- Round July 2023, the defendants attacked the physician’s workplace and demanded an approximate $5,000,000 ransom fee.
- Round October 2023, the defendants attacked the engineering firm and demanded an approximate $1,000,000 ransom fee.
- Round November 2023, the defendants attacked the drone producer and demanded an approximate $300,000 ransom fee.
It is stated that they didn’t handle to extort a monetary fee from the opposite victims. Whereas Martin has pleaded not responsible, court docket information present that Goldberg allegedly confessed to being recruited by the unnamed co-conspirator to “attempt to ransom some firms” throughout an interview with the FBI and that he carried out the assaults to get out of debt. The third particular person has not been indicted.
Each Goldberg and Martin have been charged with conspiracy to intervene with interstate commerce by extortion, interference with interstate commerce by extortion, and intentional injury to a protected pc. These accusations may incur a most penalty as much as 50 years in federal jail.
