#Alleged mastermind behind massive Twitter hack is a 17-year-old from Florida

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Graham Clark
Courtesy of Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

The mastermind behind one of the largest Twitter hacks in history, which targeted high-profile accounts including Elon Musk, Joe Biden and Kanye West, is a 17-year-old kid from Florida, authorities said Friday.

Graham Clark of Tampa was arrested early Friday morning and slapped with 30 felony charges for allegedly hacking into the accounts of many prominent users as a part of a sweeping cryptocurrency scam, WFLA reported. Other notable accounts compromised included Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and the corporate account for iPhone maker Apple.

The scheme involved stealing the identities of high-profile people on Twitter then directing victims to send Bitcoin to accounts Clark allegedly owned — earning him more than $100,000 in Bitcoin in a single day, Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren said.

Clark is facing one count of organized fraud, 17 counts of communications fraud, one count of fraudulent use of personal information with over $100,000 or 30 or more victims, and other related charges.

“These crimes were perpetrated using the names of famous people and celebrities, but they’re not the primary victims here. This ‘Bit-Con’ was designed to steal money from regular Americans from all over the country, including here in Florida,” Warren said in a statement, according to the outlet.

“This massive fraud was orchestrated right here in our backyard, and we will not stand for that.”

Clark was tracked down after a “complex, nationwide investigation” that included the state attorney’s office, the FBI, the IRS, the Secret Service and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.