Teen Who Hacked Into Celebrity Twitter Accounts Reaches Plea Deal

TAMPA, FL — A Tampa teenager has pleaded guilty to hacking into the Twitter accounts of celebrities and convincing the celebrities' followers to send him more than $100,000 in Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

Prosecutors with the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office reached a plea agreement in the case of Graham Ivan Clark, who prosecutors say was the mastermind behind a global Twitter attack in July.

The then-17-year-old admitted to taking control of 36 Twitter accounts July 15, including those belonging to Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Kanye West, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, Mike Bloomberg, Jeff Bezos, Wiz Khalifa, Floyd Mayweather and Elon Musk.

He then convinced the celebrities' Twitter followers to send him Bitcoin worth about $117,440 by promising to double their investment.

Under the agreement approved Tuesday, Clark received a sentence of three years of incarceration followed by three years of probation.

According to State Attorney Andrew Warren, Clark pleaded guilty to all charges listed in the charging document.

"The outcome holds Clark accountable for his actions, recognizes his acceptance of responsibility, and offers him a chance to get his life on the right track," Warren said in a news release.

Clark’s six total years of supervision are the maximum allowed under Florida’s Youthful Offender Act, which is available once to a juvenile offender. Clark will serve time in a juvenile facility, where he will receive education and transition services to prepare him for life after he finishes his sentence, Warren said. If Clark, who turned 18 in January, violates his probation, he will face a minimum 10-year sentence in adult prison.

“He took over the accounts of famous people, but the money he stole came from regular, hard-working people," Warren said. "Graham Clark needs to be held accountable for that crime, and other potential scammers out there need to see the consequences. In this case, we’ve been able to deliver those consequences while recognizing that our goal with any child, whenever possible, is to have them learn their lesson without destroying their future.”

The 7½ months Clark has already spent behind bars will be applied toward his three years of incarceration. Along with his probation, this means Clark will remain under supervision until the middle of 2026, when he will be 23 years old.

“A great deal of impressive work has gone into stopping these fraud schemes and holding the people behind them accountable. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement shared its expertise in economic crimes, working closely with our experienced team to define the charges and build the case," Warren said. "This is one part of a nationwide effort, and we want to recognize all the federal partners involved — the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, other elements of the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI, the IRS and the Secret Service. They quickly unraveled this mystery that stretched around the world, and then worked nonstop to catch the fraudsters who tried to take advantage of millions of unsuspecting people."

“Because of the expertise and dedication of our cybercrime investigators, working with State Attorney Warren’s office and the FBI, we were able to recover the stolen Bitcoin so it can be returned to the victims," FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen said. "I thank our FDLE agents and federal partners for their work quickly unraveling this case and hope it serves as a warning to potential hackers that, if you commit a computer crime, our FDLE agents will find you.”

Federal investigators said Clark used a range of hacking and social engineering techniques to defeat security protocols and access Twitter's internal systems to take over the accounts of various companies and celebrities July 15.

Then, posing as the celebrities, Clark asked followers to send Bitcoin to a cryptocurrency account, pledging to send double the amount back to the sender.

Law enforcement officials seized all the Bitcoin that Clark received when he was arrested July 31 at his home in the Northdale community.

He was charged with 30 felony counts including one count of organized fraud, 17 counts of communications fraud, one count of fraudulent use of personal information with more than $100,000 or 30 or more victims, 10 counts of fraudulent use of personal information and one count of access to computer or electronic device without authority.

"He's a 17 year-old kid who apparently just graduated high school," Warren said following Clark's arrest. "But no make no mistake, this was no ordinary 17-year-old. This was a highly sophisticated attack on a magnitude not seen before."

According to Twitter, which conducted an internal investigation into the hack, Clark targeted Twitter employees using a "phone spear-phishing attack" that allowed Clark to access Twitter's internal controls.

Twitter said 130 accounts were targeted in the scam with tweets sent by the hackers from 45 of those accounts. There were 36 accounts in which the hackers took control of the accounts and viewed the direct message boxes of the account holders.

The social media platform provided details of the hack and thanked law enforcement for quickly resolving the case. Twitter also vowed to better safeguard accounts.

Although Warren said Clark was the mastermind behind the scheme, he wasn't the only person involved. Also charged were Nima Fazeli, 22, of Orlando, and Mason Sheppard, 19, of the United Kingdom.

See related story: Teen Accused In Bitcoin Scam Hacked Kanye, Obama Twitter Accounts