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Florida 'Ransomware Recovery' Boss Charged With Quietly Paying Hackers While Billing Victims $19M for Fake Expertise
Zohar Pinhasi, owner of Florida-based cybersecurity firm MonsterCloud, has been charged with wire fraud by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly deceiving ransomware victims by secretly paying ransoms to cybercriminals while falsely claiming to use proprietary decryption tools. Pinhasi reportedly charged clients over $19 million in total, far exceeding the $8 million he actually paid to ransomware attackers, pocketing the substantial difference as profit. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 20 years in prison per charge.
Ransomware 'Rescuer' Allegedly Just Paid the Criminals and Pocketed a $11M Markup
Zohar Pinhasi, owner of MonsterCloud, has been charged with wire fraud for deceiving ransomware victims by claiming his company could decrypt their data using proprietary tools, when in reality he was secretly paying ransoms to attackers. He allegedly paid over $8 million in ransoms while charging clients more than $19 million, in one case paying $8,200 to a ransomware group but billing the victim $150,000. Pinhasi now faces wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy charges that could result in decades in prison.