A teenager from Bognor Regis is one of three people accused over the Twitter hack that saw the accounts of politicians and celebrities compromised.
The US Department of Justice said Mason Sheppard faces three charges.
The 19-year-old, also known as “Chaewon”, has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and the intentional access of a protected computer.
US attorney for the Northern District of California David Anderson said Sheppard “faces a statutory maximum penalty of 45 years of imprisonment” if convicted.
According to the criminal complaint, the attack saw around 130 accounts belonging to politicians, celebrities and musicians compromised.
Accounts belonging to Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and Bill Gates were among those affected.
The company said out of the 130 accounts targeted, 45 were used to send tweets. The criminals also accessed the DM inboxes of 36 users and downloaded the Twitter data of seven.
According to the Department of Justice, the scam Bitcoin account received more than 400 transfers worth more than $117,000 (£90,000).
Nima Fazeli, also known as “Rolex”, 22, of Orlando, Florida, has been charged with aiding and abetting the intentional access of a protected computer.
The Department of Justice said charges had also been filed against a juvenile who was arrested on Friday.
Graham Ivan Clark, 17, was held in Tampa, Florida, according to the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office.
It said he would be prosecuted as an adult and is allegedly the “mastermind” behind the hack.
Credit-skynews
