Ransomware negotiator sentenced to 6 years for extorting clients

Created at 10 Jul · 7:47 PM1 source↑ Market-relevant

IN SHORT

Angelo Martino, a former ransomware negotiator, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for colluding with the BlackCat ransomware group. He provided confidential client information to maximize ransom payments, receiving a portion of the proceeds in exchange.

Key Numbers

70 monthsprison sentence for Angelo Martino

6 yearsapproximate prison sentence for Angelo Martino

$75 milliontotal paid by five victims to ransomware affiliates

24 monthssentence requested by Martino

4 yearssentence for co-defendants Kevin Martin and Ryan Goldberg

10 percentof post-release salary Martino must pay victims

$213,000 to $26.8 millionrange of ransoms paid by victims

$1.2 millionextorted from one victim by Martino and co-conspirators

November 2022 to April 2025Martino's employment period at DigitalMint

April 2023 to September 2023period of victim payments

Who's Involved

Angelo Martino

former ransomware negotiator sentenced to 70 months

BlackCat

ransomware group Martino colluded with

DigitalMint

company Martino worked for as a negotiator

US government

prosecutor in the case

Kevin Martin

co-defendant, former ransomware negotiator

Ryan Goldberg

co-defendant, incident manager at Sygnia

Brett Leatherman

FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director

Ransomware negotiator sentenced to 6 years for extorting clients

↳ Why This Matters

This case highlights a severe breach of trust where a cybersecurity professional exploited his position to aid cybercriminals, demonstrating the complex and often hidden risks within the ransomware negotiation industry and the potential for insider threats.

Key facts

Angelo Martino, a former ransomware negotiator, was sentenced to 70 months in prison.
He colluded with the BlackCat ransomware group to extort DigitalMint's clients.
Martino provided confidential client information, including insurance limits and negotiation strategies.
He received cryptocurrency proceeds in exchange for this information.
Martino and co-conspirators also acted as BlackCat affiliates, extorting $1.2 million from one victim.
DigitalMint stated it was an unknowing victim and cooperated with the investigation.

Angelo Martino, a former ransomware negotiator for DigitalMint, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison for betraying his clients and colluding with the BlackCat ransomware group. Martino's role was to negotiate with cybercriminals on behalf of DigitalMint's clients, but instead, he provided them with confidential information to maximize ransom demands in exchange for a share of the payments.

The US government stated that Martino's actions led to five victims paying over $75 million, with millions likely inflated due to the information he provided. Martino pleaded guilty and sought a 24-month sentence, highlighting his cooperation that led to the indictment and conviction of two co-defendants, Kevin Martin and Ryan Goldberg, who were also ransomware negotiators and received four-year sentences.

In addition to working against his clients, Martino, Martin, and Goldberg also acted as BlackCat affiliates, deploying the ransomware themselves and successfully extorting $1.2 million from a medical device company. Other victims did not pay but suffered losses from the attacks. Martino received millions in cryptocurrency, using much of it to purchase assets like houses, a boat, and vehicles before the FBI seized some of his funds.

Victims in the scheme included companies in the financial services, health, hospitality, nonprofit, and retail industries. The conspiracy impacted their ability to provide services to customers. DigitalMint stated it was an unknowing victim of Martino's actions, having fired the employees involved and fully cooperating with federal authorities. The company noted that Martino intentionally hid his conduct and evaded internal safeguards.

Frequently asked questions

Angelo Martino was a ransomware negotiator for DigitalMint, responsible for negotiating with cybercriminals to reduce ransom payments for the company's clients.

Martino provided confidential negotiation information, including insurance policy limits and internal strategies, to BlackCat ransomware actors to help them maximize ransom demands.

Martino was sentenced to 70 months in prison. His co-defendants, Kevin Martin and Ryan Goldberg, were sentenced to four years in prison.

Yes, they secured an affiliate account with BlackCat and used it to attack five victims, successfully extorting $1.2 million from one company.

DigitalMint stated it was an unknowing victim, fired the employees involved, and fully cooperated with federal authorities throughout the investigation.

What Happens Next

01The government is due to submit a proposed order of forfeiture by next week.

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How It Developed

Angelo Martino, a former ransomware negotiator for DigitalMint, was sentenced to 70 months in prison.

Martino colluded with the BlackCat ransomware group, providing confidential client information to inflate ransom demands.

He received a portion of the ransom payments in cryptocurrency.

Martino pleaded guilty and sought a 24-month sentence, citing substantial assistance in indicting two co-defendants.

Co-defendants Kevin Martin and Ryan Goldberg were sentenced to four years in prison in April 2026.

Martino must forfeit property and pay 10 percent of post-release earnings to compensate victims.

Victims paid ransoms ranging from $213,000 to $26.8 million.

Martino and co-conspirators also deployed BlackCat ransomware themselves, extorting $1.2 million from one victim.

Sources

Ransomware negotiator helped attackers extort his own clients, gets 6-year sentencevar abtest_2162682 = new ABTest(2162682, 'impression');Ars Technica