- The teenaged ringleader of last year’s Twitter hack faces three years in prison
- Graham Clark will serve the time as part of a plea deal after he impersonated over a dozen celebrities and companies
- Clark and two accomplices stole ₿13 in July last year from the Twitter hack
The teenager who caused a stir last year when he hacked into the Twitter accounts of a range of public figures and large companies has agreed to a three-year stint in jail as part of a plea deal. Graham Clark and his two associates made off with ₿13, worth just over $100,000 at the time, when they managed to access a Twitter control panel and put out a series of tweets offering to send back double of what was sent to them. Clark’s accomplices, Nima Fazeli and Mason Sheppard, face federal charges for their role in the scam.
Twitter Hack Trio Hoodwinked Employee
Clark was just 17 at the time of the Twitter hack in July last year, which targeted some of the world’s most famous names and brands, including President Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Apple, and Uber among many others. It was soon revealed that Clark had managed to convince a Twitter employee he worked in the company’s IT department, and soon had access to its customer service portal. This allowed the trio to post the messages simultaneously and make off with the haul before Twitter could act.
Clark’s Accomplices Could Face Tougher Penalties
If the gang thought they were in the clear however, they were very wrong. Firstly, cryptocurrency exchanges worked together to block the addresses receiving the stolen funds from liquidating through them, forcing the thieves to go through mixing services. Of more importance however was the speed at which the Florida Department of Law Enforcement acted, identifying Clark, Sheppard, and Fazeli and arresting them all just two weeks after the Twitter hack.
Clark faces a three-year probationary period once he is released, while Sheppard and Fazeli face tougher sentences because they are being charged with federal crimes whereas Clark was charged with state crimes due to his age.
