More facts emerged that the alleged July 15, 2020, Twitter hack mastermind Graham Ivan Clark owns 265.08687815 Bitcoin equivalent to $11, 468, 135 in today’s market value (it’s worth over USD 3 million at the time of the incident)
The 17-year-old hacker appeared on a video screen at the Hillsborough County Courthouse where the judge says he’s facing 29 count charges.
Each charge is set at $25,000, the 29 counts totalling $725,000, a report by the United States says.
Graham Clark, made headlines on Friday when he was charged with 30 counts of organized fraud, fraudulent use of personal information and communications fraud.
He was accused of being the brain behind the July 15 Twitter hack, which saw a large number of high-profile Twitter accounts breached.
He hacked prominent Twitter accounts of world wealthiest man Jeff Bezos, billionaire boxer Floyd Mayweather, Elon Musk, billionaire music icon Kanye West, Joe Biden, investment icons like Mike Bloomberg and Warren Buffett, and more than 100 other Twitter accounts.
Recall that Graham Clark was arrested alongside two other accomplices and are also awaiting federal charges.
The report says the 17-year-old Graham Clark would be charged with state charges, as opposed to federal due to his age.
On Monday, the prosecutors and defense attorneys engaged each other over the proper amount of bail to set for Clark.
Graham Clark As a Known Bitcoin Criminal
According to defense attorney, Clark was under a criminal investigation in 2019, which led to law enforcement taking 400 BTC from him.
However, defense attorney David Weisbrod told the court that the police had returned 300 BTC back to Clark, noting that this proves the funds did he had been using money in his possession to execute criminal activities hiding under the anonymity of cryptocurrency.
A report from the Court says that Weisbrod asked Judge Ober to set bail at $20,000, prompting Judge Ober to set the bail much higher, setting at $25,000 per 29 counts or a total of $725,000.
Why higher bail conditions?
The judge believed that Graham Clark still had in his possession illegal bitcoin he dubiously collected from unsuspecting members of the public.
It’s gathered that the 17-year boy only garnered $117,000 worth of BTC on July 15, but the judge believes that he’s still in possession of illicit BTC.
The judge also stated that Clark would wear an electronic tracking device if he posted bail. The boy is expected to surrender his passport and he is barred from accessing the internet during his trial.