Overview
- Ryan Goldberg, 40, and Kevin Martin, 36, pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by extortion and face sentencing on March 12, 2026, with a maximum of 20 years each.
- The defendants targeted multiple U.S. companies in 2023 using ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware, including firms in pharmaceuticals, engineering, medical devices, drone manufacturing, and a doctor's office.
- A Tampa medical device company paid $1.27 million in Bitcoin after its servers were encrypted in May 2023, while other demands reportedly reached as high as $10 million.
- Court records detail a ransomware-as-a-service model in which a 20% cut went to ALPHV, with the remaining proceeds split among conspirators and laundered through various channels.
- The FBI Miami Field Office led the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, and the Southern District of Florida is pursuing asset forfeiture tied to the illicit funds.