Prosecutors said Karen Serobovich Vardanyan helped extort about 1,610 bitcoin from U.S. victims between November 2019 and April 2020, with sentencing set for Sept. 22, 2026.
Karen Serobovich Vardanyan, a 34-year-old Armenian national extradited from Ukraine, pleaded guilty on July 8 to conspiracy and computer fraud in a Ryuk ransomware case that federal prosecutors said extracted more than $15 million in bitcoin from U.S. victims. Prosecutors alleged the campaign collected about 1,610 bitcoin from attacks carried out between November 2019 and April 2020, including 200 bitcoin paid by a Michigan company to regain access to its network, a transfer worth more than $1.1 million at the time. The scheme used Ryuk ransomware to encrypt files, disable workstations and lock organizations out of corporate data, then demanded Bitcoin payments in exchange for decryption keys. A plea agreement requires more than $1.1 million in restitution, and Vardanyan is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 22, 2026, when a U.S. district court judge will review the agreement and applicable federal guidelines.