Man behind Barack Obama and Jeff Bezos Twitter hacks to repay over $5 million in stolen bitcoin
Hacker Joseph James O'Connor must repay over $5.3 million in bitcoin stolen through a major social media account hacking scheme.Summary
Joseph James O'Connor, the 26-year-old social media hacker responsible for a massive SIM-swapping scheme that compromised high-profile accounts including those of Barack Obama and Jeff Bezos, has been ordered to repay over $5.3 million in stolen bitcoin.
O'Connor pleaded guilty in the U.S. in 2023 to multiple charges and was sentenced to five years in prison. U.S. prosecutors stated that O'Connor and his co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to over 130 X (formerly Twitter) accounts, alongside accounts on TikTok and Snapchat, belonging to figures like Bill Gates and Kanye West, to steal cryptocurrency.
British authorities are now seeking to recover 42 bitcoin and other assets, which will be liquidated by a court-appointed trustee. At the time of O'Connor's sentencing, the seized crypto was valued at $794,000. The alleged mastermind of the group, Graham Ivan Clark, received a three-year juvenile detention sentence in 2021.
(Source：The Block)