UK hacker who breached Obama, Elon Musk’s Twitter accounts ordered to repay $5.4mln in Bitcoin

LONDON: A British man who hacked high-profile Twitter accounts, including former US President Barack Obama, has been ordered to return $5.4 million in Bitcoin, British authorities announced on Monday.

Joseph James O’Connor, 26, pleaded guilty in the US to computer intrusion, wire fraud, and extortion, and was sentenced to five years in prison in 2023. He was arrested in Spain in 2021 and extradited to the United States after the court ruled that most evidence and victims were there.

The Crown Prosecution Service said it obtained a civil recovery order to seize 42 Bitcoin and other crypto assets linked to the scam, which involved hijacking celebrity accounts to solicit cryptocurrency and make threats.

Prosecutor Adrian Foster said, “Even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we can ensure they do not profit from criminal activity.”

The 2020 attack targeted accounts of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, former President Obama, and other celebrities including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Kim Kardashian. The breach forced Twitter, now X, to temporarily restrict verified accounts.