Hospital hacker extradited to U.S., facing charges for extortion and fraud
A federal grand jury has indicted an alleged Russian hacker, charging him with conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud and extortion.
Deniss Zolotarjovs, 33, of Moscow, Russia, appeared in court in Cincinnati on Tuesday, after having been extradited to the U.S. by the nation of Georgia earlier this month.
He had been in jail in Georgia after being arrested by local authorities in December 2023. According to prosecutors, Zolotarjovs is an active member of a large Russian cybercrime group and is the first from the organization to be arrested and extradited to the U.S. to face charges.
The name of the group was not revealed in a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). However, according to court documents, the group is Karakurt, which has been linked to major hospital breaches stateside, including the 2023 attack on Regional Health Center and a 2022 incident against Methodist McKinney Hospital.
The group used ransomware and laundered bribes in cryptocurrency, the DOJ said. Karakurt maintains a site on the dark web to auction data it secures from breaches, selling it to nefarious actors.
It isn’t clear when the trial for Zolotarjovs will begin. He remains behind bars, having only appeared in court for arraignment.
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