WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department has charged three current or former members of the so-called Syrian Electronic Army for computer hacking-related conspiracies.
The charges were unsealed Tuesday in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Virginia.
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Prosecutors allege that two Syrians, 22-year-old Ahmad Umar Agha and 27-year-old Firas Dardar, tricked email users to steal usernames and passwords to compromise government, media and private-sector computer systems.
In April 2013 they allegedly tweeted from the Associated Press account on Twitter falsely claiming a bomb had exploded at the White House and injured the president.
None of them are in custody. A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to their arrests.
Pierre Romar, 36, of Syria was also charged separately for his role in an extortion hacking scheme. He's believed to be in Germany.