Department of Justice
U.S. Army soldier pleads guilty to extorting 10 tech, telecom firms
A 21-year old former U.S. Army soldier pleaded guilty to charges of hacking and extorting at least ten telecommunications and technology companies in the country. Cameron John Wagenius was arrested in Texas on December 20, 2024 and indicted in the Western District of Washington on two counts of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records. In February […]
DOJ investigates ex-ransomware negotiator over extortion kickbacks
An ex-ransomware negotiator is under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice for allegedly working with ransomware gangs to profit from extortion payment deals. The suspect is a former employee of DigitalMint, a Chicago-based incident response and digital asset services company that specializes in ransomware negotiation and facilitating cryptocurrency payments to receive a decryptor or prevent […]
Hacker ‘IntelBroker’ charged in US for global data theft breaches
A British national known online as “IntelBroker” has been charged by the U.S. for stealing and selling sensitive data from victims worldwide, causing an estimated $25 million in damages. The indictment, revealed today by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, accuses Kai West, a 25-year-old British man, of using the handle […]
Iranian pleads guilty to RobbinHood ransomware attacks, faces 30 years
An Iranian national has pleaded guilty to participating in the Robbinhood ransomware operation, which was used to breach the networks, steal data, and encrypt devices of U.S. cities and organizations in an attempt to extort millions of dollars over a five-year span. According to a U.S. Department of Justice and an unsealed indictment, 39-year-old man named Sina Gholinejad, also known […]
PowerSchool hacker pleads guilty to student data extortion scheme
A 19-year-old college student from Worcester, Massachusetts, has agreed to plead guilty to a massive cyberattack on PowerSchool that extorted millions of dollars in exchange for not leaking the personal data of millions of students and teachers. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Matthew D. Lane pleaded guilty to four federal charges of one count […]
Ukrainian extradited to US for Nefilim ransomware attacks
A Ukrainian national has been extradited from Spain to the United States to face charges over allegedly conducting Nefilim ransomware attacks against companies. The suspect, Artem Aleksandrovych Stryzhak, 35, was arrested in Spain in June 2024 and extradited to the U.S. on April 30, 2025. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Stryzhak allegedly participated […]
U.S. seized $8.2 million in crypto linked to ‘Romance Baiting’ scams
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized over $8.2 million worth of USDT (Tether) cryptocurrency that was stolen via ‘romance baiting’ scams. Previously referred to as ‘pig butchering,’ in this type of financial fraud victims are manipulated into making investments on fraudulent websites/apps that showcase massive returns. Convinced they’re making a profit, the victims invest […]
Suspected LockBit ransomware dev extradited to United States
A dual Russian-Israeli national, suspected of being a key developer for the LockBit ransomware operation, has been extradited to the United States to face charges. Rostislav Panev, 51, was arrested in Israel last August, where police reportedly found incriminating evidence on his laptop. This included credentials for LockBit’s internal control panel and a repository containing […]
US seizes domain of Garantex crypto exchange used by ransomware gangs
The U.S. Secret Service has seized the domain of the sanctioned Russian cryptocurrency exchange Garantex in collaboration with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the FBI, and Europol. Other law enforcement authorities involved in this action include the Dutch National Police, the German Federal Criminal Police Office, the Frankfurt General Prosecutor’s Office, the Estonian National […]
US charges operators of cryptomixers linked to ransomware gangs
The U.S. Department of Justice indicted three operators of sanctioned Blender.io and Sinbad.io crypto mixer services used by ransomware gangs and North Korean hackers to launder ransoms and stolen cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency mixers allow the mixing of deposited crypto assets among many wallet addresses to help obfuscate their source. The services then take a commission from […]