An Israeli court on Thursday convicted a dual American-Israeli citizen on charges including extortion for making a string of bomb threats targeting U.S. Jewish community centers, airlines and shopping malls – capping a case that had raised fears of a wave of anti-Semitism in the United States.
The Tel Aviv district court did not identify the man because he was a teen when he committed the crimes.
His arrest in March 2017 followed a joint investigation with the FBI and other international law enforcement agencies.
Police said the 19-year-old, from southern Israel, used advanced technologies to mask the origin of his calls and communications to synagogues, community buildings and public venues.
In early 2017, there were dozens of bomb threats against Jewish community centers and day schools across the U.S. and in Canada, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish group that battles anti-Semitism. The threats led to evacuations, sent a chill through local Jewish communities and raised fears of rising anti-Semitism.
The Israeli indictment asserts that in addition to the Jewish centers, the man also targeted airports, malls, police stations and Republican State Sen. Ernesto Lopez from Delaware. He also offered his intimidation services over the internet in return for compensation in bitcoin.
The convicted hacker was accused of making over 2,000 threats.
Among the allegations in the Israeli indictment were making a bomb threat against an El Al flight to Israel that sparked fighter jets to be scrambled, and threatening a Canadian airport, which required passengers to disembark on emergency slides. Six people were injured. He was also accused of threatening a Virgin Australia flight that, as a result, dumped eight tons of fuel over the ocean before landing, and threatening a plane being used by the NBA's Boston Celtics.
According to court documents, the defense claimed the suspect was mentally ill and had acted out of boredom.
While finding him to be on the autism spectrum, the court said there were no signs of mental illness. It said he was highly intelligent and had gone to great lengths to cover up his acts, proving he understood right from wrong.
His parents have said he has a brain tumor that causes autism and other mental problems, making him unable to understand the nature of his actions.
Psychiatrists found that he was on the autism spectrum and suffered from paranoid delusions, but determined that he was fit to stand trial, according to the verdict released to media.
"I did it out of boredom. It was like a game. I understand that it is wrong, and I am sorry and will not do it again," the verdict quoted him as telling the psychiatrists.
It also said he earned about $240,000 worth of the digital currency bitcoin by selling his threat services online.
Police had said he used sophisticated "camouflage technologies" to disguise his voice and mask his location. They said a search of his home uncovered antennas and satellite equipment.
The judge wrote that investigators had determined the young man enjoyed making people panic and putting them in fear and distress.
Prosecutor Yoni Hadad said the man was convicted on charges including extortion, publishing false information, money laundering and violations of computer laws. "He caused panic and terrorized many people, and disrupted their lives," he said.
It wasn't immediately clear when the man would be sentenced or how much time behind bars he could face.
Defense lawyer Yoram Sheftel said his client was the first person with autism to be put on trial in Israel. "Our courts keep expanding the scope of convictions," he said.
In the U.S., the young man also faces federal hate crimes, bomb threats, hoax and cyberstalking charges that could potentially put him behind bars for decades, according to an indictment issued in February. Israel has reportedly refused a U.S. request for extradition.
In a separate case, a U.S. federal court sentenced Juan Thompson, a former journalist from St. Louis, to five years in prison for threatening Jewish organizations as part of a cyberstalking case against a former girlfriend.
