A Russian national, Ilya Angelov, was sentenced to 24 months in prison, fined $100,000, and subject to a $1.6 million money judgment for running a botnet used to carry out ransomware attacks on dozens of U.S. companies. Angelov co-managed a Russia-based cybercrime group known as TA551 (or Mario Kart) between 2017 and 2021, using aliases such as “milan” and “okart,” and built a botnet by spreading malware through spam email attachments.
The group sold access to infected machines to other criminals who used them to launch ransomware campaigns, with attacks infecting 72 U.S. companies and generating over $14.17 million in extortion payments, including BitPaymer ransomware deployments. The FBI has identified over 70 U.S. corporations infected by an organisation linked to Angelov’s group, resulting in substantial payments, according to a press release published by DoJ.
The sentencing was described by authorities as a strong message that cyber criminals will be held accountable, with officials noting the FBI’s ongoing effort to dismantle networks that financially exploit U.S. businesses. According to the press release, the case was announced by U.S. prosecutors and the FBI’s Detroit Field Division.