Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
- Ukrainian national Yaroslav Vasinskyi sentenced to over 13 years in prison for involvement in REvil ransomware scheme
- Charges included conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and damage to protected computers
Affiliate of the REvil ransomware-as-a-service group, Yaroslav Vasinskyi, has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to an 11-count indictment. The charges against Vasinskyi, also known as Rabotnik, involved conspiracy to commit fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and damage to protected computers. According to court documents, he conducted thousands of ransomware attacks using the Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware variants. The sentencing also included an order for Vasinskyi to pay roughly $16 million in restitution for his role in over 2,500 ransomware attacks.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri stated, “Yaroslav Vasinskyi and his co-conspirators hacked into thousands of computers around the world and encrypted them with ransomware. Then they demanded over $700 million in ransom payments and threatened to publicly disclose victims’ data if they refused to pay.”
Vasinskyi’s sentencing highlights the severity of cybercrime and serves as a warning to others involved in ransomware schemes. The restitution amount underscores the financial impact that cybercriminals can have on their victims and the importance of holding them accountable for their actions.
