---
title: DOJ: Syrian hacker Ahmad Umar Agha ("Th3Pr0"), behind the 2013 fake AP tweet that briefly wiped $136B off the Dow, sentenced to 42 months | ctxsec
url: https://ctxsec.com/items/doj-ahmad-umar-agha-th3pr0-sentenced-42-months-assad-regime-hacking
description: ""
status: "official (US DOJ Office of Public Affairs, Oct 29)"
published: 2026-10-30
---

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official (US DOJ Office of Public Affairs, Oct 29)

2026-10-30

### DOJ: Syrian hacker Ahmad Umar Agha ("Th3Pr0"), behind the 2013 fake AP tweet that briefly wiped $136B off the Dow, sentenced to 42 months

A federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia sentenced **Ahmad Umar Agha** (also known as **Th3Pr0**) to **42 months** in prison for a central role in a hacking conspiracy that DOJ says was organized and led by members of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle, including the commander of Syria's General Intelligence Directorate, from as early as Aug. 24, 2011 to Jan. 31, 2014. He had been a fugitive for more than a decade.

- **Scope:** about **47** Western media organizations, businesses, NGOs and US and allied government entities were hacked to spread regime propaganda, punish reporting on regime atrocities and collect intelligence.
- **Notable hacks per court filings:** the April 23, 2013 tweet from a news agency's hijacked Twitter account falsely claiming President Obama was injured in White House explosions, which caused a temporary **$136 billion** drop in the value of Dow stocks; redirecting the US Marine Corps recruiting site to a page urging Marines to refuse orders; an NGO that spent about $480,000 recovering; and a content company losing about $35,000 a day for roughly six months.

The National Security Division and the FBI (Cyber Branch and Washington Field Office) said the case shows they keep pursuing state-sponsored hackers long after the fact.

Sources: [US DOJ: Syrian Man Sentenced for Wide-Ranging Hacking Conspiracy Conducted on Behalf of the Bashar Al Assad Regime (Oct 29)](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/syrian-man-sentenced-wide-ranging-hacking-conspiracy-conducted-behalf-bashar-al-assad-regime)