Three people were charged on Friday for his or her alleged involvement during a
massive Twitter hack earlier this month that took over the accounts of
prominent users like Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Elon Musk and used them
to market a bitcoin scam.
The individuals included Mason Sheppard, a 19-year-old from the uk who glided by the moniker "Chaewon" online, Nima Fazeli, a 22-year-old from Orlando, Florida who glided by the alias "Rolex," also as a minor, consistent with a press release from us Attorney David Anderson.
The minor, 17-year-old Graham Ivan Clark, was arrested on Friday morning in Tampa after an investigation conducted by federal and state investigators, Hillsborough state's attorney Andrew Warren said during a statement Friday. The statement alleged Clark was the "mastermind."
Warren said his office was handling the prosecution because Florida law allows greater flexibility than federal law to charge a minor as an adult during a case like this.
CNN is attempting to spot the lawyers representing the individuals.
"There may be a fallacy within the criminal hacker community that attacks just like the Twitter hack are often perpetrated anonymously and without consequence," Anderson said during a statement. "Today's charging announcement demonstrates that the elation of nefarious hacking into a secure environment for fun or profit are going to be short-lived.
The FBI said two people charged within the attack had been taken into custody.
"Today's arrests represent just the primary step for enforcement ," said FBI San Francisco Assistant agent responsible Sanjay Virmani. "Our investigation will still identify anyone else who may are involved in these crimes."
A spokesperson for the UK's National Crime Agency said it had searched a property in Bognor Regis, West Sussex . The NCA has not made any arrests.
In a statement on Friday, Twitter said it appreciated "the swift actions of enforcement during this investigation and can still cooperate because the case progresses."
In this month's Twitter hack, the compromised VIP accounts posted similar tweets soliciting donations via bitcoin to their verified profiles.
Following the hack, there have been approximately 415 transfers into the suspect bitcoin address worth $117,457.58, per a federal indictment.
A enforcement source told CNN that investigators believe the motive behind the intrusions was bitcoin theft and therefore the sale of access to the accounts, instead of an intelligence effort by a far off government.
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