Angelo Martino Sentenced to 70 Months for Betraying Five BlackCat Ransomware Victims

Angelo Martino, 41, of Land O’Lakes, Florida, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison for betraying five ransomware victims to the BlackCat gang while pretending to negotiate on their behalf.

“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”

Ars Technica

Prosecutors said Martino used confidential information about victims’ negotiation strategies and insurance limits to help attackers “maximize the ransoms in exchange for a portion of the ransom payments.”

Ars Technica

The case described a total of $75.3 million paid by Martino’s clients, including a nonprofit that paid nearly $26.8 million, a financial services company that paid nearly $25.7 million, and a hospitality company that paid almost $16.5 million.

Ars Technica reported that Martino’s job as a ransomware negotiator for DigitalMint was “to negotiate with cybercriminals to mitigate the ransoms paid by [DigitalMint’s] clients,” but the government said he instead provided confidential negotiation information to the cybercriminals.

The investigation and prosecution were led by the FBI’s Miami Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, according to the Tech Times account.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said, “Angelo Martino’s victims shared heartbreaking accounts of how their businesses were nearly destroyed, while the people they hired to help them instead betrayed them to ransomware gangs,” framing the sentence as punishment for harm caused by an insider.

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said Martino “was hired to help victims in a moment of crisis,” but “Instead, Martino betrayed them, fed their confidential negotiating positions to ransomware criminals, and helped squeeze them for more money.”

Bitdefender

The Hacker News described federal prosecutors calling Martino a “double agent working to maximize the harm to his clients and the financial gain to cybercriminals who paid him a part of the ransom.”

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

Ars Technica also reported that Martino was ordered to forfeit property and pay 10 percent of any salary he earns after release, with the government due to submit a proposed order of forfeiture by next week.

Beyond the five-victim negotiation betrayal, the sources say Martino also conspired with Kevin Martin and Ryan Goldberg to deploy BlackCat ransomware against additional U.S. organizations between April 2023 and November 2023.

The Security Affairs account said law enforcement seized about $10 million in assets from Martino, including digital currency, vehicles, a food truck, and a luxury fishing boat, and it added that “A hearing to determine the amount of restitution to be ordered against Martino is set for Sept. 17.”

Ars Technica reported that Martino received millions of dollars in cryptocurrency as proceeds from the conspiracy and that the FBI seized cryptocurrency from him, including after he used much of it to buy two houses in Florida, a boat, and several vehicles.

Tech Times stated that Martino obtained a dedicated ALPHV/BlackCat affiliate account accessible only to him and BlackCat operators and used it to run a hidden second communication channel parallel to DigitalMint’s visible client-facing negotiation.

The Hacker News said Martino is expected to appear in court on September 17, 2026, to determine the exact amount of restitution to be ordered against him, tying the next procedural step directly to the consequences of the case.