The young man, described by the media as a “hacker,” who was questioned by the FBI in Iceland and the U.S. in 2011, when he was 18-years-old, in opposition with Icelandic authorities, has been sued by WikiLeaks over fraud and theft.

Archive photo: Páll Stefánsson/Iceland Review.

The boy, who turns 21 this year, is being accused of having defrauded profits from WikiLeaks t-shirts sold to raise funds for the organization, among other issues, visir.is reports.

He met WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 2010 and requested to become a volunteer for the organization. The boy himself has claimed that he served an important position within the organization and worked closely with Assange.

However, WikiLeaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson denies his claims. “The young Icelander worked on a few projects for the organization for several months in 2011 and came to England to meet Julian Assange and others connected with the organization as was common among volunteers at the time.”

Kristinn states his projects involved fundraising, among other measures by selling t-shirts. It later turned out that profits from the sale of t-shirts weren’t delivered into WikiLeaks’ account.

“He used deceit and falsification to have the funds go into his personal account but not that of the organization. Due to circumstances and the organization’s request, he was given an opportunity to repay the money in a period of a few months. When the money wasn’t repaid, the case was reported to the police, probably in March or April last year, and that’s where it’s still at,” Kristinn said.

The young man is believed to have defrauded ISK 5-6 million (USD 40,000-47,000, EUR 29,000-35,000). The economic crime department of Reykjavík Metropolitan Police is investigating the case but the man has not been subpoenaed. According to Stöð 2, he has a long history with the police for fraud and theft, among other violations.

“His situation seems to be very poor and the deceit and treachery border on being the result of serious illness,” Kristinn commented.

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ESA