British Twitter fraudster must repay looted Bitcoin

A British cybercriminal involved in a massive Bitcoin fraud wave that swept Twitter in 2020, and subsequently convicted, must repay Bitcoin worth £4.1 million (4.66 million euros). At the time, the Twitter accounts of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former US President Barack Obama were among those affected.

Joseph James O'Connor, now 26, pleaded guilty in the United States to several charges, including computer hacking, wire fraud, and extortion, and was sentenced to five years in prison in the summer of 2023. 4261920

O'Connor and his accomplices, whom he likely met while playing Call of Duty online, gained unauthorized access to a Twitter administrative program through social engineering. This allowed them to post tweets in others' names, urging followers to send Bitcoin to an account, promising to double their money in the name of the prominent account holders. The attack in July 2020 compromised the accounts of Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Kim Kardashian, and others. Twitter (now X) was prompted to restrict verified accounts temporarily.

Between July 15 and 16, 2020, 426 transfers of varying amounts were made by individuals to the fraudsters. According to the BBC, a total of more than 12.86 Bitcoin was stolen. At the time, they were worth around 110,000 US dollars; today, they are worth 1.2 million US dollars. O'Connor was arrested in Spain in 2021 and extradited to the US on April 26, 2023, where he was convicted.

42 Bitcoin and other crypto assets seized

Investigators from the UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) assume that further cryptocurrencies were looted by O'Connor through the cyberattacks. The CPS has therefore seized a total of 42 Bitcoin and other digital currencies from him.

As reported by the British daily newspaper The Independent, the British Public Prosecution Service announced on Monday that it had obtained a civil forfeiture order to seize the 42 Bitcoin and other crypto assets linked to the Twitter fraud. The assets frozen during the extradition process will be liquidated by a court-appointed trustee, it states.

"We have been able to use all the powers available to us to ensure that even if someone is not convicted in the UK, we can still ensure that they do not profit from their criminality," said Prosecutor Adrian Foster in a statement.

(akn)