Federal Jury Finds Former Twitter Middle East Media Partnerships Employee Guilty of Fraud, Conspiracy, Obstruction and Foreign Agent Charges in Bribery Scheme to Access, Monitor and Forward User Information on Behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Family her royalty
A federal jury yesterday convicted Twitter’s former Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Media Partnerships Manager of acting as a foreign agent without the Attorney General’s notice, conspiracy, wire fraud, international money laundering and falsifying records in a federal investigation. The ruling comes after a two-week trial before the Honorable US District Judge Edward M. Chen for the Northern District of California.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ahmad Abouammo, 44, formerly of Walnut Creek, California, and currently residing in Seattle, was employed by Twitter as Manager of Media Partnerships for the MENA region. Evidence at trial showed that Abouammo received bribes in exchange for accessing, monitoring and forwarding private information of Twitter users to officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi royal family. In this position, Abouammo was responsible for protecting Twitter’s user information and owed Twitter his honest services. Twitter’s policies also required Abouammo to disclose violations of Twitter’s security policies and report gifts from those who had business dealings with the company. When questioned about accessing Twitter user information and accepting bribes, Abouammo then lied to FBI investigators and falsified a document.
“Abouammo acted covertly as an agent of a foreign government targeting dissenting voices,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s Homeland Security Division. “This verdict shows that the Department of Justice will not tolerate any act of transnational oppression and will hold accountable those who help hostile regimes reach our shores.”
“The Northern District of California is home to many of the most innovative technology companies in the world,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds for the Northern District of California. “A consequence of this good fortune is that companies in this area often collect and store large amounts of data from customers and vendors. In this case, the government demonstrated and the jury found that Abouammo violated a sacred trust to keep personal information private from Twitter customers and sold private customer information to a foreign government. Abouammo’s decision to accept bribes in exchange for providing a foreign government with protected customer information could have had incalculably damaging consequences. As this case demonstrates, we will not tolerate the misuse of personal information or efforts by foreign governments to recruit covert, malicious agents into American technology companies. When such misuse violates federal law, violators will be prosecuted.”
“Any attempt by foreign governments to hijack free speech — on social media or in any form — will not be tolerated here in the United States. This case is a testament to the FBI’s commitment to protecting our constitutional right,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “Authoritarian governments rely on transnational repression to shape the world in their favor and stifle dissent. We remain committed to protecting the United States from all external and internal threats, including efforts by foreign governments to stalk, harass, or intimidate people within our borders.”
“The FBI’s San Francisco Division works tirelessly to prevent efforts by foreign governments to suppress basic human rights, including the free speech of dissenting voices on US social media platforms,” it said. Special Agent in Charge Sean Ragan of the FBI’s San Francisco office. “This verdict reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to stop transnational repression by any foreign government and sends a clear message that justice will be meted out to those who threaten the freedoms of an open society.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Abouammo began accepting bribes from an official of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as early as December 2014. The foreign official met with Abouammo in London and gave Abouammo a luxury Hublot watch. Abouammo later admitted the watch was worth $42,000 when he listed it for sale on Craigslist. After the meeting in London, Abouammo began repeatedly using private information for several Twitter accounts, at least one of which was an influential account that was critical of members of the Saudi royal family and the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Abouammo also continued to communicate with the official of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including regarding the influential critical account.
Evidence at trial further showed that after Abouammo traveled to Lebanon in February 2015. A bank account was opened in his father’s name in Lebanon and Abouammo gained access to that bank account. The account then received $100,000 from the official of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Abouammo laundered the money by sending it to the United States in small wire transfers with false descriptions. Abouammo quit his job at Twitter in May 2021 and, soon after, received another $100,000 in a bank account in Lebanon accompanied by a note from the official apologizing for the late payment. Abouammo responded, in part, by asking if the official wanted any additional information from Twitter.
In October 2018, FBI agents interviewed Abouammo at his residence about his involvement in the scheme with officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Evidence at trial showed that Abouammo provided false information to FBI investigators and forged a receipt for one of the payments he received from the foreign official.
Abouammo was arrested on November 5, 2019. On July 28, 2020, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging him with acting as an agent of a foreign government without notifying the Attorney General; conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud; six counts of honest services fraud and wire fraud; international money laundering; and falsifying records in a federal investigation. The jury acquitted Abouammo of five counts of wire fraud and honest services fraud. The jury returned a guilty verdict on all remaining counts.
Abouammo faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the charge of acting as an agent of a foreign government and 20 years in prison on each of the other charges. Additionally, each charge Abouammo was convicted of carries a fine of up to $250,000 and additional periods of supervised release to follow the prison sentence. A federal district court judge will determine each sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colin Sampson and Eric Cheng for the Northern District of California and Trial Attorney Christine Bonomo of the Homeland Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Beth Margen and Alycee Lane. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.
