A 44-year-old Ukrainian man pleaded guilty on Wednesday for his role in a massive cyberattack scheme that targeted over a thousand victims and extorted at least $150 million.
Oleksii Oleksiyovych Lytvynenko, who was living in Cork, Ireland, before being extradited to the United States, entered the plea for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Court documents show he was part of the group behind Conti, a notorious ransomware variant used to lock up computer networks worldwide until victims paid up. If victims refused, the hackers threatened to leak their stolen data to the public.
The Conti group cast a wide net. Between 2020 and 2022, their attacks hit networks in 47 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Washington D.C., and 31 other countries. Lytvynenko admitted to joining the operation by September 2021 and confessed to holding stolen data from eight American victims and four international ones. He also admitted to coding a “loader,” a specific type of malicious software designed to help launch other cyberattacks on victim networks.
Federal law enforcement officials highlighted the plea as a major step in fighting international cyber threats.
FBI
“The defendant and his conspirators used the Conti ransomware to terrorize people and businesses in the United States and around the world, causing millions of dollars in damage,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Justice Department will continue to work with international partners to bring to justice anyone, anywhere who attacks the United States with ransomware.”
U.S. Attorney Braden H. Boucek for the Middle District of Tennessee echoed that sentiment, noting that stopping these groups remains a top priority. “These criminal enterprises are sophisticated, but our prosecutors are up to this challenge and are dedicated to rooting these thieves out and holding them accountable,” Boucek said.
The FBI and Secret Service also emphasized their commitment to tracking down hackers operating overseas. FBI Assistant Director Brett Leatherman noted that Lytvynenko “profited from fear and coercion,” while Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Forrest of the Secret Service called the guilty plea a “powerful reminder that cybercriminals — whether acting alone or as part of a larger group — cannot hide behind their keyboards or international borders.”
The case ties into the FBI’s ongoing Operation Riptide, a campaign aimed at dismantling the infrastructure and financial networks behind cyber fraud. According to the FBI, Americans reported over $20 billion in losses to cybercrime last year alone, marking a 26 percent increase from the year before.
Lytvynenko is scheduled to be sentenced on September 10, 2026. He currently faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
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Extradited Ukrainian Hacker Pleads Guilty In $150 Million Global Ransomware Spree
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