Former Ransomware Negotiator Pleads Guilty to Aiding BlackCat Attacks
Summary
Angelo Martino pleaded guilty to helping BlackCat operators obtain confidential victim negotiation details and to collaborating on attacks against U.S. victims. Authorities seized about $10 million in assets; Martino faces up to 20 years in prison.
Key points
- Martino secretly gave BlackCat operators clients’ insurance limits and internal negotiation positions while working as a ransomware negotiator.
- He admitted collaborating with Ryan Goldberg and Kevin Martin to deploy BlackCat against multiple U.S. victims between April and November 2023.
- In one case, the defendants extorted approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin and shared and laundered the proceeds.
- Authorities seized about $10 million in assets from Martino, including digital currency and vehicles.
- Martino faces a maximum 20-year prison term and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9, 2026; Goldberg and Martin had pleaded guilty earlier.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Guilty pleas in a ransomware extortion conspiracy involving former incident responders and BlackCat operators.
- Impact
- The defendants deployed BlackCat against multiple U.S. victims in 2023. Martino secretly shared clients’ insurance limits and negotiation positions with attackers; one victim was extorted for approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin. Authorities seized about $10 million in assets from Martino.
People
Threat Actors
Angelo MartinoPleaded guilty to collaborating with BlackCat operators by providing confidential victim negotiation details, and admitted to helping deploy BlackCat ransomware against U.S. victims.BlackCatThe article identifies BlackCat as a ransomware gang whose operators collaborated with Martino; Martino and the other defendants admitted to deploying its ransomware against U.S. victims.Kevin Tyler MartinAdmitted to collaborating with Martino and Ryan Goldberg to deploy BlackCat ransomware against U.S. victims; pleaded guilty in December 2025.Ryan GoldbergAdmitted to collaborating with Martino and Kevin Martin to deploy BlackCat ransomware against U.S. victims; pleaded guilty in December 2025.