Two former employees of US cybersecurity firms have been sentenced to prison for their roles in the ALPHVBlackCat ransomware scheme that targeted companies across the country and the world.
Kevin Tyler Martin, 36, of Texas, and Ryan Clifford Goldberg, 40, of Georgia, were each sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty in December 2025. Prosecutors said the pair conspired to deploy the ALPHVBlackCat ransomware against multiple victims between April and December 2023, extorting significant payments.
Both men worked together with a third co-conspirator, Angelo Martino, 41, of Florida, who is scheduled to be sentenced in July 2026. Authorities said the trio used their insider knowledge of cybersecurity practices to carry out attacks and maximize ransom payouts.
Martin and Martino were employed at DigitalMint, a firm specializing in ransomware negotiation, while Goldberg served as an incident response manager at Sygnia.
The ransomware strain used in the attacks was part of a now-defunct ransomware-as-a-service operation believed to have targeted more than 1,000 victims worldwide.
In one case, the group successfully extorted approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin from a single victim. According to authorities, Martin and Goldberg split an 80% share of the ransom with Martino and then laundered the funds to hide their activities.
Martino, who previously worked as a negotiator, allegedly abused his position by sharing confidential information about victims’ insurance policy limits with ransomware operators, enabling higher ransom demands. He pleaded guilty last month.