- A Florida-based negotiator hired to help ransomware victims secretly helped BlackCat attackers and even implemented the ransomware himself
- Prosecutors revealed that he shared confidential client information, conspired with accomplices, and laundered more than $1 million in Bitcoin.
- All three defendants pleaded guilty, with sentencing dates set for mid-2026 and possible prison terms of up to 20 years.
A cybersecurity professional hired by ransomware victims to negotiate with attackers admitted to helping the threat actors, as well as implementing the ransomware himself, as reported earlier this week.
According to a press release published 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 that, Martino shared sensitive inside information with the criminals, helping them maximize their demands: “Martino provided the BlackCat attackers with confidential information about the negotiating position and strategy of his company’s clients without the knowledge or permission of the clients or his employer,” the DOJ said. “This sensitive information assisted the ransomware actors and maximized the ransoms that victims were required to pay. The sensitive information included the victims’ insurance policy limits and internal negotiating positions.”
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Facing 20 years in prison
Martino was awarded for his efforts by the BlackCat gang.
This is the latest development in the case that was first reported in November 2025. Back then, a U.S. 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 anonymous co-conspirator (who we now know was Martino), claiming that the trio hacked the company’s networks, stole data, encrypted it with ALPHV (BlackCat) ransomware, and demanded ransoms in cryptocurrencies.
At the time, Martin and Martino were reported to work at DigitalMint, while Goldberg was a former Sygnia incident response manager.
Martino also admitted to conspiring with Goldberg and Martin to deploy BlackCat against multiple US-based victims, entering and then laundering approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin. The Justice Department said it has so far 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 will be sentenced on July 9, 2026. All three face up to 20 years in prison.
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