Feds say another DigitalMint negotiator ran ransomware attacks and helped extort $75 million
Feds say another DigitalMint negotiator ran ransomware attacks and helped extort $75 million
https://cyberscoop.com/digitalmint-ransomware-negotiator-arrest-angelo-martino-extortion/
Publish Date: 2026-03-12 09:31:00
Source Domain: cyberscoop.com
A 41-year-old South Florida man is accused of conducting at least 10 ransomware attacks and helping accomplices extort a combined $75.25 million in ransom payments while he was working as a ransomware negotiator for DigitalMint.
Five of Angelo John Martino III’s alleged victims hired DigitalMint, which assigned Martino to conduct ransomware negotiations on their clients’ behalf — putting him in a position to play both sides, as the criminal responsible for the attack and the lead negotiator for his alleged victims, according to federal court records unsealed Wednesday.
Martino allegedly obtained an affiliate account on ALPHV, also known as BlackCat, and conspired with other former cybersecurity professionals to break into victims’ networks, steal and encrypt data, and extort companies for ransoms over a six-month period in 2023.
Martino was an unnamed co-conspirator in an indictment filed in November 2025 against Kevin Tyler Martin, another former ransomware negotiator at DigitalMint, and Ryan Clifford Goldberg, a former manager of incident response at Sygnia. Goldberg and Martin pleaded guilty in December to participating in a series of ransomware attacks and are scheduled for sentencing April 30.
Prosecutors accuse Martino of providing confidential information regarding ransomware negotiations to ALPHV co-conspirators to maximize the ransom payment. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The five U.S.-based victims that hired DigitalMint and unwittingly tapped Martino to allegedly conduct ransomware negotiations with himself and his co-conspirators include a nonprofit and companies in the hospitality, financial services, retail and medical industries. All five of those victims paid a ransom.
Goldberg and Martin were not specifically named as co-conspirators in those attacks. Prosecutors previously said they only successfully extorted a financial payment from one of their victims for nearly $1.3…
