Joseph James O’Connor, 26, was jailed in the US after admitting his role in a July 2020 hack that took over more than 130 X accounts to run a fake Bitcoin charity scam. He forfeited about $794,000 and was ordered to pay $2.19m to victims. Extradited from Spain in April 2023 and later deported, the CPS has instructed him to surrender 42 BTC (≈£71,000) plus other crypto holdings totalling roughly £4.1m. Authorities say the action prevents him profiting from his crimes.
British Hacker Ordered to Surrender £4.1m in Crypto After Major 2020 Celebrity Account Hack
Joseph James O’Connor, 26, was jailed in the US after admitting his role in a July 2020 hack that took over more than 130 X accounts to run a fake Bitcoin charity scam. He forfeited about $794,000 and was ordered to pay $2.19m to victims. Extradited from Spain in April 2023 and later deported, the CPS has instructed him to surrender 42 BTC (≈£71,000) plus other crypto holdings totalling roughly £4.1m. Authorities say the action prevents him profiting from his crimes.
02:20 AM, 11/18/2025Security
British cybercriminal ordered to hand over £4.1m in cryptocurrency
Joseph James O’Connor, a 26-year-old from Liverpool, has been ordered to surrender cryptocurrency worth about £4.1m after admitting his role in one of the largest social‑media hacks on record. O’Connor, known online as PlugwalkJoe, helped hijack more than 130 X accounts in July 2020 and used several high‑profile profiles to promote a fake Bitcoin charity scam.
The compromised accounts — which included public figures such as Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett — urged followers to send $1,000 (around £760) in Bitcoin with the promise their donations would be doubled within 30 minutes. The scheme defrauded supporters and funnelled cryptocurrency through laundering operations.
The group also obtained intimate photos and videos from the phone of actress Bella Thorne and threatened to publish them; Thorne later posted the material herself with a defiant message. Separately, the same network is linked to the theft of roughly £602,384 in cryptocurrency from a Manhattan finance firm between March and May 2019 after taking control of executives’ mobile devices.
O’Connor was arrested in Spain — where he had been living with his mother — and extradited to the United States on 26 April 2023. About a week and a half later he pleaded guilty in New York to a series of offences, including conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, conspiracies to commit wire fraud and money‑laundering, two counts of committing computer intrusions and making extortive communications.
He was ordered to forfeit $794,012.64 (approximately £604,000) that he obtained through money‑laundering and to pay $2,187,716.21 (about £1.66m) to victims of the scheme. O’Connor served a five‑year sentence in the United States and was deported after completing his term.
The Crown Prosecution Service has instructed him to surrender 42 Bitcoin (valued at roughly £71,000) along with other cryptocurrency holdings amounting to about £4.1m.
Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said: “Joseph James O’Connor targeted well‑known individuals and used their accounts to scam people out of their crypto assets and money. We were able to use the full force of the powers available to us to ensure that even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we are still able to ensure they do not benefit from their criminality.”
This case highlights continuing vulnerabilities in social platforms, the enduring appeal of cryptocurrency for fraudsters, and the cross‑border cooperation between law enforcement agencies to recover criminal proceeds.