DOJ charges ransomware recovery CEO for secretly paying hackers
DOJ charged MonsterCloud owner Zohar Pinhasi with wire fraud for secretly paying ransomware gangs.
The Justice Department charged Zohar Pinhasi, a 50-year-old U.S. and Israeli national and owner of Florida-based MonsterCloud, with wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. Prosecutors say the ransomware-recovery firm claimed proprietary decryption tools but secretly paid gangs, billed clients about $19 million, and paid roughly $8 million in ransoms. In one 2023 case he allegedly paid an $8,200 ransom and charged the client $150,000. He faces up to 20 years if convicted. A 2019 ProPublica investigation previously described the same business model.
56