An Armenian national, Hambardzum Minasyan, was extradited to the United States to face criminal charges after his arrest on March 23 and appeared in federal court in Austin, where prosecutors say he is accused of helping to manage RedLine, a widely used infostealer malware operation.
Prosecutors allege Minasyan registered virtual private servers that were part of RedLine’s infrastructure and two web domains used during attacks. They say he also registered a cryptocurrency account in November 2021 that the RedLine gang used to receive affiliate payments and created online file-sharing repositories used to distribute the malware to affiliates, the Justice Department said.
With the assistance of other accomplices, Minasyan is accused of managing the operation’s digital infrastructure, including administrative panels and command-and-control servers that affiliates used to deploy the infostealer to compromised devices. Prosecutors contend the conspirators also provided support to affiliates and answered technical questions and requests.
The indictment alleges the conspirators sought to steal financial information from infected systems and launder the proceeds through cryptocurrency exchanges and other methods. Minasyan faces counts including access device fraud, violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
If convicted on all counts, Minasyan faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Law enforcement actions against RedLine have been international: Dutch police seized network infrastructure in October 2024 as part of “Operation Magnus,” U.S. authorities have charged a Russian national, Maxim Alexandrovich Rudometov, as a suspected developer and administrator who could face up to 35 years, and in June 2025 the U.S. State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of government-sponsored hackers tied to the operation.
The Justice Department filing cited by prosecutors sets out the government’s allegations; the release does not state whether Minasyan has entered a plea or when his next court appearance is scheduled.