British hacker in Obama, Musk Twitter scam to repay $5.4M

A London court has ordered British hacker Joseph James O’Connor to repay proceeds from the 2020 Twitter Bitcoin scam, approving a civil recovery order under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The order targets 42 Bitcoin and other digital assets traced to the hack, valued at more than $5.4 million at the time of the ruling.

The compromised Twitter, now known as X, accounts included Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Joe Biden, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Kanye West, Jeff Bezos, and corporate accounts for Apple and Uber. Court records indicate the group in some instances sold access to these profiles.

U.S. filings describe the use of SIM-swapping and other intrusions to gain access to accounts across Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat. One of the targeted TikTok profiles was described as among the most visible on the platform.

O’Connor reportedly hacked into around 130 Twitter accounts and used them to send scam messages. Posts from the accounts promoted a fake giveaway that promised to double any Bitcoin sent to a listed wallet. The wallet collected over $100,000 worth of Bitcoin at the time.

O’Connor, from Liverpool, pleaded guilty in the United States in 2023 to wire fraud, computer intrusion and extortion related to the scheme. The United Kingdom did not bring criminal charges, opting to pursue asset recovery through civil proceedings.

The seized cryptocurrency has risen sharply in value alongside Bitcoin’s price since 2020, making the holdings worth more than $5.4 million at the time of the order. Authorities highlighted the high profile of the affected accounts and the speed at which the scam reached large audiences.

With the recovery order in place, the trustee will liquidate the crypto assets and place the proceeds under public control, in line with court directions.

As we covered previously, a London court jailed Chinese fugitive Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, for laundering proceeds of a 40 billion renminbi investment fraud connected to the UK’s record seizure of 61,000 BTC in a 2018 Metropolitan Police investigation. She pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court, and authorities are working to identify and compensate affected investors in China, subject to court orders and asset recovery rules.