Federal prosecutors have charged the owner of a Florida ransomware recovery company with allegedly misleading customers about how their encrypted files were restored, saying the company secretly paid cybercriminals while promoting its ability to recover data without paying ransoms.
Zohar Pinhasi, 50, owner of MonsterCloud LLC, was arraigned Wednesday in Brooklyn federal court on two wire fraud counts and one wire fraud conspiracy count. A federal grand jury indicted him on September 23, according to the Justice Department.
The charges are allegations. Pinhasi is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Prosecutors allege secret ransom payments
According to the indictment, MonsterCloud advertised proprietary tools and advanced techniques to decrypt files locked by ransomware. Prosecutors allege Pinhasi instead contacted the attackers, paid for decryption keys and concealed those payments from customers.
The Justice Department says clients were charged more than $19 million over the alleged scheme, while more than $8 million was paid to cybercriminals. Those figures represent the government’s allegations, not findings established at trial.
In one example cited by prosecutors, the company allegedly paid an attacker about $8,200 in August 2023 and billed the affected customer approximately $150,000.
Why disclosure matters to ransomware victims
Ransomware can lock organizations out of essential files and systems, forcing urgent decisions about recovery. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency advise against paying ransoms because payment does not guarantee restored data or prevent further compromise.
The indictment raises questions about whether customers were accurately told what recovery services they were buying. It does not establish that Pinhasi committed the alleged conduct.
Case remains pending
Prosecutors say Pinhasi faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison on each count if convicted. Those maximum penalties are not a prediction of any sentence.
The case is United States v. Pinhasi, 26-CR-271, in the Eastern District of New York. Zark News will update this report as material court developments are confirmed.
Sources: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and U.S. Department of Justice, October 7, 2026.
