Amir Hossein Golshan is a 24 year old man from Los Angeles, California. Police have accused Golshan of hacking into the Instagram accounts of influencers and extorting them for money.
Amir Hossein Golshan Allegations
Golshan Arrested, Accused Of Hacking. “Federal prosecutors say Amir Hossein Golshan, 24, used a technique known as “SIM swapping” to fraudulently induce phone carriers to reassign his victims’ cellphone numbers to a phone he controlled. After obtaining control of the victims’ phone numbers, prosecutors allege, Golshan reset the password and codes for the victims’ social media accounts and sent them to a device he controlled. He faces charges of aggravated identify theft and two counts of wire fraud, among others. Golshan has been in jail since his arrest Feb. 2. His arraignment was scheduled for Friday morning in United States District Court, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Central District of California said in a statement.” [Fox]
Golshan Accused On Multiple Counts. “Amir Hossein Golshan, 24, is charged with two counts of wire fraud, one count of unauthorized access to a protected computer to obtain information, one count of accessing a computer to defraud and obtain value, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of threatening to damage a protected computer. Golshan has been in federal custody since his arrest on a criminal complaint in this case on February 2. His arraignment is scheduled for Friday morning in United States District Court.” [DOJ]
Golsham Pleaded Not Guilty. “At his arraignment hearing Friday in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Golshan pleaded not guilty, said Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. His trial date was scheduled for April 18.” [LA Times]
DOJ: Golshan Tricked Influencers Into Giving Out Phone Info. “For example, in December 2021, a Los Angeles-based model and social media influencer identified in court documents as “Victim 1” received a direct message on Instagram from the account owned by one of her friends, stating, “Can you do me a favor? What’s your number?” Victim 1 provided her phone number to the person whom she believed was her friend. Four hours later, Victim 1 noticed that her phone was no longer connecting to her cellphone network. She then received an email from her cellphone carrier stating that her account had been changed from her personal iPhone to a different iPhone that she did not recognize. It took Victim 1 approximately two hours to regain control of her cellphone and she was unable to log into her Instagram account for one day because her password had been changed. During that time, Golshan allegedly hacked into Victim 1’s Instagram account, posed as Victim 1 and requested cellphone numbers and money from Victim’s friends, collecting approximately $15,000 in illicit gains in the process.” [DOJ]
DOJ: Golshan Could Face 20 Years In Prison If Convicted. “If convicted of all charges, Golshan would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count, up to five years in federal prison for each computer hacking-related count, and a mandatory two-year prison sentence for the aggravated identity theft count. The FBI is investigating this matter.” [DOJ]
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.