A London teenager is facing a maximum 95 years in prison for allegedly calling company help desks and convincing employees to reset passwords in a massive campaign to steal data and hold it for ransom. All told, the scheme allegedly extorted 47 unnamed U.S. entities and hit at least 120 computer networks—including the U.S. federal court system. Payments from victims totaled $115 million, prosecutors from the Department of Justice said.
A complaint unsealed in New Jersey this week charged Thalha Jubair, 19, with computer and wire fraud, and three counts of conspiracy charges. Authorities claim Jubair was allegedly part of the malicious hacking group known as “Scattered Spider,” from May 2022 to September 2025. Jubair allegedly used aliases including “Austin,” “Brad” and “EarthtoStar” in his role with the group, which could have begun when he was as young as 15 or 16. The complaint lists 47 unnamed companies in the U.S. as victims, including airlines, manufacturers, retailers, five tech companies, three financial services firms, and dozens of others. The U.S. federal court system was also allegedly targeted in the scheme, the complaint states.
