ACCORDING to the DOJ’s press release, a Latvian national was sentenced today to 102 months in prison for his role in a major Russian ransomware organisation that stole from and extorted over 54 companies. Deniss Zolotarjovs (Денисс Золотарёвс), 35, of Moscow, Russia, was a member of the group led by former Conti leaders, with brands used in ransom notes including Conti, Karakurt, Royal, TommyLeaks, SchoolBoys Ransomware, and Akira.
The period of his active participation was approximately June 2021 to August 2023, during which the organisation stole data from more than 54 companies, including many in the United States.
He was primarily responsible for escalating pressure on victims who resisted prompt payment, and he analysed stolen data, researched victim companies, and exploited access to particularly sensitive information; in one pediatric healthcare attack he leveraged children’s health data for extortion and urged coconspirators to be “DESTROYERS.” Of the 54 companies attacked, 13
incidents resulted in over $56 million in losses, including about $2.8 million in ransom payments, with government estimates suggesting total losses could be in the hundreds of millions. He was arrested in Georgia in December 2023 and transferred to U.S. custody in August 2024, later pleading guilty in July 2025 to conspiring to commit money laundering and wire fraud.