Graham Ivan Clark, the teenager who was the mastermind behind the hack of various Twitter accounts belonging to high-profile accounts back in 2020, has received a three-year jail term.
According to a report by the Tampa Bay Times, Clark pleaded guilty to the Twitter hack that happened last summer at a virtual court hearing held on Tuesday, March 16th, 2021, in Florida. Following a deal struck with prosecutors, the 18-year old teenager would serve a three-year jail term and three years probation.
Clark, who faced 30 charges, was sentenced as a “youthful offender” according to an agreement, thereby avoiding the minimum 10-year sentence. Meanwhile, Clark could serve some of his sentence in a boot camp.
As part of the plea deal, Clark would grant unlimited access to any accounts he owns by giving up his passwords. Also, the accused would be prohibited from using electronic gadgets without the permission and supervision of law enforcement officials.
In addition, David Weisbrod, Clark’s defence attorney, confirmed that the teenager returned all the stolen cryptocurrency, for restitution. However, if Clark violates any of the terms of the agreement, he could serve the minimum 10-year jail-term in an adult prison.
Back in July 2020, the Twitter community woke up to a rude shock, when it was discovered that many prominent accounts were hacked. Some of the affected accounts included those belonging to high-profile personalities such as Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and major crypto companies like Binance, Coinbase, and Gemini.
The hackers carried out a fraudulent bitcoin giveaway through the compromised accounts. The scam required people to send BTC to a particular address in order to get double. Many people fell for the fake giveaway because they thought it was from the real owners of the accounts.
According to Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Clark, who was 17 years old at the time, was able to carry out the elaborate Twitter hack by tricking employees of the platform into gaining access to the company’s internal tools. Clark also gained control of Twitter’s customer service portal.
The hackers were able to collect almost $120,000 worth of bitcoin during the fraudulent giveaway, before it was shut down. Meanwhile, two other people involved in the scheme, Nima Fazeley and Mason Sheppard, also face federal charges in connection with the Twitter hack.