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Florida Man (Teen) Arrested for Twitter Hack

Photo: Glenn Chapman/AFP via Getty Images

The purported mastermind behind a large-scale Twitter hack that impacted major accounts this month has been named. Graham Ivan Clark, a 17-year-old from Florida, orchestrated the attack, the New York Times reports. Victims included Kanye West, Vice-President Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Michael Bloomberg, and President Barack Obama, as well as dozens of other high-profile accounts and brands. On July 15, hacked accounts began tweeting similar language about “giving back to the community” and doubling any Bitcoin users sent to them. This was, clearly, a scam. The Times reports it “netted Bitcoin worth more than $180,000.” It was the largest hack in Twitter history.

Clark — who did not conduct the hack alone but is being described as its architect — was already under investigation. “In April, the Secret Service seized over $700,000 worth of Bitcoin from him, according to legal documents,” the Times also reports. He will be tried as an adult. Two other people, 22-year-old Nima Fazeli, also from Florida, as well as 19-year-old Mason Sheppard from the United Kingdom, have also been charged, The Verge reports. They face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine and 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, respectively. Clark faces 30 felony counts.

Clark was arrested and taken into custody at his home in Florida, The Verge also reports. What do you say at the end of an episode of Scooby-Doo where it turns out the villains were, in fact, those meddling kids?

Florida Man (Teen) Arrested for Twitter Hack