A virtual bail hearing for the Florida teen charged for a sweeping hack of high-profile Twitter accounts came to a screeching halt after pranksters disguised as journalists flooded the video feed with pornography and rap music.
The online hearing for 17-year-old Graham Ivan Clark saw some unusual interruptions on Wednesday, with ‘Zoom bombers’ posing as reporters from CNN and the BBC gaining access to the virtual chat and disrupting the proceedings with graphic porn videos, shouting, movie dialogue and music.
At one point, Hillsborough County Judge Christopher Nash was forced to temporarily pause the hearing, but the pranksters – somehow allowed to remain in the chat – were undeterred, continuing the disruptions after the process resumed. Nash did ultimately hand down a ruling over the noise, however, keeping the teen’s bail at $750,000. He remains in custody.
Clark was arrested last Friday and charged on 30 felony counts – 17 for communications fraud, 11 for fraudulent use of personal information and two other charges linked to fraud and hacking – with prosecutors stating the teen was the “mastermind” behind a massive July 15 Twitter hack. The intrusion targeted dozens of high-profile accounts, including former US President Barack Obama and 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden, as well as a series of billionaires, corporations and celebrities. The compromised accounts tweeted deceptive bitcoin offers, ultimately scamming users out of some $120,000 in crypto currency.
The teen was charged alongside fellow Floridian Nima Fazeli, 22, and UK national Mason Sheppard, 19, who stand accused of “aiding and abetting the intentional access of a protected computer” and “conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and the intentional access of a protected computer,” respectively. Clark’s next virtual hearing is set for October – which the judge made sure to note would be password protected.
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