A former Twitter worker has been pronounced responsible for his function in digging up personal data pertaining to sure Twitter customers and turning over that knowledge to Saudi Arabia.
Ahmad Abouammo, 44, was convicted by a jury after a two-week trial in San Francisco federal court docket, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. He faces as much as 20 years in jail when sentenced.
The verdict comes almost three years after Abouammo, together with Ali Alzabarah and Ahmed Almutairi (Ahmed Aljbreen) had been indicted in 2019 for appearing as “unlawful brokers” of Saudi Arabia, with the previous additionally charged with destroying, altering, and falsifying data in a federal investigation.
Prosecutors accused Abouammo and Alzabarah, each of whom joined Twitter in 2013, of being enlisted by officers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for unmasking its critics on the social media platform.
In accordance with court docket paperwork, each people leveraged their entry to inside methods to unauthorizedly pay money for nonpublic details about customers of particular accounts that had been important of the regime.
This data encompassing e mail addresses, telephone numbers, IP addresses, and dates of start, had been then handed over to the officers in return for which Abouammo acquired $300,000 in money and a Hublot Unico Massive Bang King Gold Ceramic watch valued at $40,000.
Moreover, in an try to impede the probe, Abouammo is mentioned to have lied to federal brokers when confronted at his Seattle residence in October 2018, saying the watch was “junky” and simply price $500, along with offering a falsified bill about solely receiving a $100,000 wire for what he claimed was consulting and media technique work.
Whereas Alzabarah sought help from Almutairi to flee the U.S. in December 2015 and escape the trial, Abouammo was arrested on November 5, 2019.
“These people are charged with concentrating on and acquiring personal knowledge from dissidents and recognized critics, below the route and management of the federal government of Saudi Arabia,” FBI Particular Agent in Cost, John F. Bennett, mentioned on the time. “Insider threats pose a important risk to American companies and our nationwide safety.”