U.S. charges Karakurt extortion gang’s “cold case” negotiator

A Latvian national, Deniss Zolotarjovs, alleged to have operated under the alias "Sforza_cesarini," was arrested and extradited to the U.S. and charged with money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion for his role as a negotiator in the Karakurt data-extortion operation; Karakurt — linked to Conti — focuses on data theft and public leaks (not file encryption), has published dozens of victims (mostly North America), and has extorted seven-figure and six-figure ransoms from U.S. organizations.