A California man was sentenced yesterday to 42 months in federal prison for his role in accessing, monitoring and conveying confidential and sensitive information that could be used to identify and locate Twitter users of interest to the Saudi Royal Family.
Ahmad Abouammo, 45, formerly of Walnut Creek and currently residing in Seattle, was convicted of acting as a foreign agent without notice to the Attorney General, conspiracy, wire fraud, international money laundering and falsification of records in a federal investigation on Aug. 9 following a two-week jury trial.
“Mr. Abouammo violated the trust placed on him to protect the privacy of individuals by giving their personal information to a foreign power for profit. His conduct was made all the more egregious by the fact that the information was intended to target political dissidents speaking out against that foreign power,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
This case exposed attempts by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to illegally obtain personally identifiable information in order to target critics and dissidents. According to the evidence presented at trial, Abouammo began receiving bribes from an official of the KSA as early as December 2014.
Abouammo was employed at Twitter as a Media Partnerships Manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Twitter policies required Abouammo to protect Twitter user information, as well as disclose conflicts of interest and report gifts from those with business with Twitter. Nevertheless, the evidence at trial demonstrated that Abouammo accepted bribes from officials of the KSA in exchange for accessing Twitter user accounts and conveying information on dissidents and critics of the KSA to their government officials and the Saudi Royal family, then lied to the FBI investigators and falsified a document when questioned about the transactions in October 2018.
The evidence showed that the foreign official met with Abouammo in London in December 2014 and provided Abouammo with a luxury Hublot watch. Abouammo later referenced the value of the watch at $42,000 when offering it for sale on Craigslist. After the meeting in London, Abouammo began repeatedly accessing private Twitter user accounts and conveying sensitive information to members of the Saudi Royal Family.
U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California said, “In handing down today’s sentence, the Court emphasized that defendant shared the user information with a foreign government known for not tolerating dissidents, and he did so while working with his even more culpable co-defendant who fled to the KSA rather than face trial. This sentence sends a message to insiders with access to user information to safeguard it, particularly from repressive regimes, or risk significant time in prison.”
Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said, “Anyone working to advance the agenda of a foreign government is required by law to register as a foreign agent of that country. Mr. Abouammo brazenly disregarded this law by exploiting his role at Twitter to not only locate and peddle user information, but to also launder money via the sale of gifts received from the Saudi Royal Family. His sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering dedication to protecting against any attempt by a foreign government to stalk, harass or intimidate the people within our borders.”
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant: Ahmad Abouammo
Criminal Charges: Acting as a foreign agent without notice to the Attorney General, conspiracy, wire fraud, international money laundering and falsification of records
City and State: Walnut Creek, California
Date: Aug. 9 following a two-week jury trial
Sentence: 42 months in federal prison
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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