17-year-old American the owner of $ 3 million in bitcoins

17-year-old Tampa resident Graham Clark, who was arrested this week on charges of hacking into Twitter, turned out to be the owner of a large fortune in bitcoin, writes Tampa Bay Times.

According to the lawyer, his client’s bitcoin wallets contain assets worth more than $ 3 million. The source of the origin of these funds is not specified in the publication. The prosecution insisted that all cryptocurrency assets were obtained illegally: 

“The actions of this defendant make me think that every cent in his possession was obtained by criminal means, and we are talking about an amount measured in millions of dollars.”

A defense spokesman explained that Clark was involved in a criminal investigation in 2019. Then law enforcement officers received an order to seize $ 15,000 in cash and 400 BTC from him. Subsequently, they returned cash and 300 BTC, which, according to the lawyer, confirms that the authorities have no questions about this money.

Clark is accused of organizing an attack on Twitter to gain access to the accounts of celebrities, including Elon Musk, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and to promote a fraudulent distribution of bitcoins.

On Saturday, the court also set bail for Clark’s release from custody pending further court ruling in his case. It was $ 725,000, at $ 25,000 for the 29 indictments. It is noted that the size of the bail is six more than the amount that Clark allegedly stole from Twitter users. At the same time, according to the Tampa Bay Times, according to Florida law, $ 72,500, or 10% of the announced amount, will be enough to release Clark pending trial.

While in his jail cell, Clark appeared for the first time in Florida court on Saturday via video link. His case is being examined under federal law because he has not yet reached the age of majority, federal authorities said. Two of Clark’s alleged accomplices are also facing federal charges in California.

According to a spokesman for the prosecution, Clark hired 22-year-old Nima Faseli and 19-year-old Mason Sheppard to “manipulate” Twitter employees through them to gain access to platform management tools. How exactly the manipulations were carried out, he did not specify, however, Twitter previously stated that the attackers used phishing methods and the human factor.