A former Twitter employee was found guilty on Tuesday of spying for Saudi officials keen to expose critics on the platform.
Ahmad Abouammo was found guilty of money laundering, fraud and being an illegal agent of a foreign government, according to a copy of the verdict.
Prosecutors in the San Francisco federal court told jurors that Abouammo sold Twitter user credentials for cash and an expensive watch about seven years ago.
His defense team claimed all he did was accept gifts from spendy Saudis just because he had done his account management job.
“The evidence shows that the defendant sold his position to an insider of the crown prince for a price and with the understanding that no one was looking,” said US Attorney Colin Sampson in the final remarks before the jury.
Defense attorney Angela Chuang countered that while there appeared to have been a conspiracy to obtain revealing information about Saudi critics from Twitter, prosecutors have failed to prove Abouammo’s involvement.
Abouammo left Twitter in 2015 and took a job at e-commerce titan Amazon in Seattle, where he lives, according to court documents.
The jury deliberated for three days before finding Abouammo guilty on 6 of the 11 charges against him.
Chuang admitted to the jury that Abouammo violated Twitter’s employee rules by failing to tell the San Francisco-based company that he received $100,000 in cash and a watch worth more than $40,000 from someone who who is close to the Saudi crown prince.
However, she downplayed the importance of the gift, saying it was “small change” in Saudi culture, which is known for generosity and lavish gifts.
– Traded trust for cash? –
Abouammo was arrested in Seattle in November 2019.
Prosecutors accused Abouammo and his Twitter colleague Ali Alzabarah of being recruited by Saudi officials between late 2014 and early the following year to obtain private information about accounts firing dissident posts.
Twitter employees at the time could use their credentials to collect email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and other private information to identify individuals behind anonymous accounts, prosecutors said.
Abouammo remained at large pending his sentencing on Tuesday, despite prosecutors raising concerns he might try to flee the country.
Alzabarah, a Saudi citizen, is wanted for failing to register as a foreign government agent in the United States, according to an FBI statement.
Chuang claimed in court that prosecutors were trying to punish Abouammo for Alzabarah’s actions.
“As much as the government would like Mr. Alzabarah to sit at the table now, it is not,” Chuang told the jury.
“And that’s on them, they let Mr. Alzabarah flee the country while he was under FBI surveillance.”
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