French Hacker Sébastien Raoult Arrested Upon Return to France After U.S. Conviction

Raoult, who served part of a three-year sentence in the U.S. for cyber fraud, now faces a French investigation into new allegations of cybercrime.

Sébastien Raoult, a 22-year-old French hacker, was arrested in France after returning from the United States, where he had been convicted of cyber fraud and identity theft.
Raoult had pleaded guilty in the U.S. and was sentenced to three years in prison and $5 million in restitution for damages caused to companies, including Amazon Web Services (AWS).
His return to France follows a reduction in his U.S. sentence, but he now faces a French judicial investigation opened in 2022 regarding the sale of malicious software.
The French investigation alleges Raoult sold a tool that exploited vulnerabilities in AWS email servers, enabling phishing campaigns and mass email distribution via compromised accounts.
Raoult's lawyer stated his family is relieved he is back in France, though they view the new legal proceedings as another challenging chapter in his case.