A captivating cybercrime tale unfolds as a 33-year-old Latvian national, Deniss Zolotarjovs, living in Moscow, Russia, faces charges in the U.S. for his alleged involvement in data theft, extortion, and money laundering activities that have been ongoing since August 2021.
Zolotarjovs, also known by the alias Sforza_cesarini, stands accused of engaging in a range of criminal activities including wire fraud, Hobbs Act extortion, and money laundering. After being apprehended in Georgia in December 2023, he has now been extradited to the U.S. to face justice.
The U.S. Department of Justice revealed in a recent press release that Zolotarjovs is a member of a notorious cybercriminal group that orchestrates attacks on computer systems worldwide. The group’s modus operandi involves stealing sensitive data from victims and threatening to expose it unless a ransom is paid in cryptocurrency. Moreover, they run a leak and auction website where stolen data is showcased and sold.
Zolotarjovs played an active role within the cybercrime group, collaborating with fellow members to handle ransom payments collected from victims. While the name of the criminal syndicate remains undisclosed by the DoJ, court documents link Zolotarjovs to a faction known as Karakurt, which emerged following the crackdown on Conti in 2022.
The FBI’s investigations uncovered Zolotarjovs’ involvement in negotiating ransom payments, conducting open-source research to target victims, and recruiting journalists to amplify the group’s extortion demands. The agency further established the link between the online alias “Sforza_cesarini” and Zolotarjovs through Bitcoin transactions and email account analysis.
The FBI’s findings, which include tracing activities on Rocket.Chat and Bitcoin transactions, highlight Zolotarjovs’ pivotal role in the criminal enterprise. His extradition to the U.S. marks a significant milestone in dismantling the Karakurt group and bringing its members to justice.
As the investigation unfolds, the U.S. government warns of the group’s aggressive tactics, involving harassing emails and phone calls to coerce victims into compliance by threatening to expose sensitive data. This ongoing saga serves as a poignant reminder of the dangers posed by cybercriminal organizations.