US Court Sentences Armenian Man to Prison for Ryuk Ransomware Attacks

Karen Vardanyan, a 35-year-old Armenian national, has been sentenced to prison by a US court for his role in Ryuk ransomware attacks, the Justice Department announced this week.

Vardanyan was charged by a grand jury in the United States in February 2024 with conspiracy, fraud, and extortion in connection with computers. 

He was arrested in Ukraine in April 2025 and extradited to the United States in June 2025. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and computer fraud in July 2026. 

Vardanyan has now been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release. 

Under federal law, time spent in pretrial detention is credited toward the prison term. Vardanyan has been in custody since his extradition, so he has already served a substantial portion of the 24-month sentence.

According to authorities, the Armenian man was involved in Ryuk ransomware attacks between March 2019 and June 2020. 

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Based on the DOJ’s description, Vardanyan was likely a ransomware affiliate or initial access provider rather than part of the team that developed the malware and operated the infrastructure supporting Ryuk attacks.

He extorted more than $1 million from several victims via ransomware attacks, and he has now been ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to victims.

Several individuals involved in ransomware operations have been sentenced to prison this year. Most recently, a Ukrainian Conti ransomware developer received a 4-year prison sentence in the United States, and a Ukrainian accused of creating the Lockergoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim ransomware families has been sentenced to 13 years in prison by a Swiss court.

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