A Latvian national, Deniss Zolotarjovs, was extradited to the United States and sentenced to 8.5 years for acting as a “cold case” negotiator for the Karakurt extortion group. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering after leveraging stolen personal and children’s health data to pressure victims and coordinating extortion linked to groups like Conti and BlackCat. #Karakurt #DenissZolotarjovs
Keypoints
- Deniss Zolotarjovs was arrested in Georgia, extradited to the U.S., pleaded guilty in July 2025, and sentenced to 8.5 years.
- He served as a “cold case” negotiator for Karakurt, reviving stalled extortion efforts against victim companies.
- Zolotarjovs used stolen personal and children’s health information to increase pressure and coerce ransom payments.
- The FBI tied him to at least six extortion cases against U.S. organizations between August 2021 and November 2023, with known losses exceeding tens of millions of dollars.
- He is the first Karakurt member sentenced in the U.S., and separate sentences were handed to two former Sygnia and DigitalMint employees for BlackCat attacks.