Data Recovery CEO Indicted for Allegedly Scamming Ransomware Victims

Zohar Pinhasi, CEO of MonsterCloud, a ransomware data recovery firm, was indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly deceiving clients by claiming he could recover their encrypted files without paying ransoms, when he actually paid the ransom himself and charged victims inflated fees. The indictment confirms findings from a 2019 ProPublica investigation that revealed Pinhasi's scheme, which victimized ransomware victims a second time after hackers initially attacked them. Federal prosecutors stated the defendant "re-victimized his clients while extracting a hefty profit for himself."