Ransomware negotiator hired to represent victims was working for the attackers

Sentencing

A former ransomware negotiator was sentenced to 70 months in prison yesterday after colluding with BlackCat scammers to extort the victims he was hired to protect.

As a ransomware negotiator for the company DigitalMint, Florida resident Angelo Martino’s job was “to negotiate with cybercriminals to mitigate the ransoms paid by [DigitalMint’s] clients,” the US government said in a sentencing memorandum on Tuesday.

“Instead, Martino provided the cybercriminals with confidential negotiation information to maximize the ransoms in exchange for a portion of the ransom payments. Five of the victims whom Martino was supposed to help paid over $75 million to ransomware affiliates, including likely millions of dollars in ransom demands inflated as a result of the confidential information provided by Martino.”

Plea and Co-Defendants

Martino, 41, pleaded guilty and asked for a 24-month sentence, noting that he “provided substantial assistance that contributed to the indictment and conviction of two co-defendants.”

As described in this November 2025 article, the co-defendants were:

• Kevin Martin of Texas, a ransomware negotiator for DigitalMint
• Ryan Goldberg of Georgia, an incident manager at security firm Sygnia

Martino had not yet been named by authorities when charges against Martin and Goldberg were announced last year. Martin and Goldberg were each sentenced to four years in prison in April 2026.

Forfeiture and Financial Details

To compensate victims, Martino must forfeit property and pay 10 percent of any salary he earns after release. The government is due to submit a proposed order of forfeiture by next week.

Martino received millions of dollars in cryptocurrency as proceeds from the conspiracy, according to a factual proffer signed by Martino and US prosecutors. The FBI seized cryptocurrency from Martino, though he had already used much of it to buy two houses in Florida, a boat, and several vehicles.

Charges and Sentencing Range

“Sold out the very victims he was hired to represent.”

Martino was charged in February with conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion. He faced a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The US said that sentencing guidelines based on Martino’s limited criminal history suggest a range of 70 to 87 months, and recommended “a sentence of at least the mid-point of this range.”