PORTLAND, Ore.—An Armenian citizen, extradited from Ukraine to the United States, was sentenced to federal prison today for his role in RYUK ransomware attacks and an extortion conspiracy targeting companies throughout the United States, including in Oregon.
Karen Vardanyan, 35, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison and 3 years’ supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $1,219,106.00 in restitution to the victims in the case.
According to court documents, Vardanyan, sometimes using the monikers Maneeken or Karl Lagerfeld, was a member of a conspiracy that deployed Ryuk ransomware on victim computer networks to extort over $1 million from several victims. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that attacks a victim’s computer or servers and renders them unusable unless the victim makes a payment to the attackers. These payments were made with some form of cryptocurrency, usually Bitcoin. Vardanyan participated in the conspiracy from March 2019 to approximately June 2020 to deploy the Ryuk ransomware against companies, schools, and other entities throughout the world. One of the victim companies was in Wilsonville, Oregon.
On February 22, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a superseding indictment charging Vardanyan with conspiracy, fraud in connection with computers, and extortion in connection with computers.
On June 20, 2025, Vardanyan made his initial appearance in federal court upon extradition from Ukraine. He was detained by the magistrate judge.
On July 8, 2026, Vardanyan pleaded guilty to conspiracy and fraud in connection with computers.
U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Rykken.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing Vardanyan’s arrest and extradition from Ukraine. The U.S. Attorney’s Office thanks the Ukrainian authorities for their assistance in this matter.
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