MIAMI, Fla. (Gray News) – A man who once worked as a ransomware negotiator for Land O’Lakes pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit ransomware attacks against various companies in the United States.
Angelo Martino, 41, began working with the operators of the Blackcat/ALPHV ransomware platform in April 2023, according to court documents.
While working as a negotiator for five separate ransomware victims, Martino gave the BlackCat cybercriminals confidential information about the victims’ negotiating strategies and positions without their knowledge or permission.
In turn, BlackCat paid Martino for his information.
He also admitted to conspiring with two other men working in cybersecurity to deploy BlackCat multiple times between April and November 2023. One of the victims was extorted for about $1.2 million in bitcoin.
Authorities have reportedly seized about $10 million in assets from Martino since then, including digital currency, vehicles, a food truck and a luxury fishing boat.
Martino pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to obstruct, delay or affect commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce by extortion, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in July.
The two other men Martino worked with pleaded guilty to the same charge in December. Their sentencing was scheduled for the end of April.
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