A federal court in Brooklyn has declared that Moises Luis Zagala Gonzalez, a 55-year-old citizen of France and Venezuela, is wanted on charges of creating a ransomware virus and distributing ransomware. This was reported in the US Department of Justice.

According to the case file, Gonzalez, who lives and works as a cardiologist in Ciudad Bolivar, is the developer of the Jigsaw encryption virus. The malware uses a doomsday timer that counts the number of attempts to remove itself from the victim’s computer. Destroys all encrypted files when the limit is reached.

The accused is known online by the pseudonyms Noosophoros, Aesculapius, and Nebuchadnezzar. He is also credited as the author of the Thanos connector that lets you create unique ransomware samples for use or rental. The software is believed to have been used by Iranian-linked hackers to attack Israeli companies.

According to the FBI, Gonzalez distributes his software on various online forums frequented by cybercriminals and helps carry out attacks. Defendant accepts payment for services in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and Monero. To do this, he uses the PayPal account of a relative living in Florida.

A criminal case was opened against Gonzalez for attempts to interfere with the operation of computers and a criminal conspiracy to such an invasion. If he is caught and proven guilty of various charges, he will face up to 10 years in prison.

Earlier, the US State Department announced a $10 million reward for information that allowed it to identify the “key leaders” of the group behind the Conti ransomware virus.