MonsterCloud CEO charged over secret ransom payments
The owner of ransomware recovery firm MonsterCloud has been charged in the US with defrauding victims. Prosecutors say he secretly paid attackers for decryption keys while telling customers their data was being recovered with the company's own technology.
Zohar Pinhasi, 50, also known as "Zack Silver" and "Zack Green," was indicted on September 23 by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York. A grand jury is the panel of citizens that decides whether federal prosecutors have enough evidence to bring charges. Pinhasi was arraigned on Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn.
He faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of wire fraud. Prosecutors say the alleged scheme ran from June 2018 to June 2023. The U.S. Attorney's Office told BleepingComputer that Pinhasi surrendered on Wednesday, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $2 million bond. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.