A Florida man, formerly employed as a ransomware negotiator, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit ransomware attacks against U.S. companies in 2023, according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs.

Angelo Martino, of Land O’Lakes, Florida, collaborated with the operators of the Blackcat/ALPHV ransomware to attack and extort businesses and individuals.

In April 2023, Martino used his role at a U.S.-based cyber incident response company to assist BlackCat actors.

Working as a negotiator on behalf of five different ransomware victims, Martino provided BlackCat attackers with confidential information about the negotiating position and strategy of his company’s clients without the clients’ or his employer’s knowledge or permission, the agency said, adding that the confidential information assisted the ransomware actors and maximized the ransoms that the victims were required to pay.

The confidential information included the victims’ insurance policy limits and internal negotiation positions. The BlackCat actors paid Martino for this confidential information.

In addition, Martino admitted to conspiring with Ryan Goldberg of Georgia and Kevin Martin of Texas to successfully deploy BlackCat ransomware between April 2023 and November 2023 against multiple victims located throughout the United States.

All three worked in the cybersecurity industry and leveraged their knowledge and skills to commit these crimes. After successfully extorting one victim for approximately $1.2 million in Bitcoin, the men split their share of the ransom three ways and laundered the funds through various means, the agency reported.

Law enforcement has seized $10 million of assets from Martino, including digital currency, vehicles, a food truck, and a luxury fishing boat that Martino obtained using proceeds of the offense or acquired as a result of the offense.

“Angelo Martino’s clients trusted him to respond to ransomware threats and help thwart and remedy them on behalf of victims,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Instead, he betrayed them and began launching ransomware attacks himself by assisting cyber criminals and harming victims, his own employer, and the cyber incident response industry itself.”

Scheduled to be sentenced on July 9, Martino faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. His co-conspirators face the same maximum penalty.

The FBI’s Miami field office is leading the investigation, with assistance provided by the U.S. Secret Service.