UK Hacker Who Breached Obama’s Twitter Account Ordered to Repay $5.4 Million in Bitcoin

• UK prosecutors secured a civil recovery order forcing Joseph James O’Connor to repay $5.4 million in Bitcoin linked to the 2020 Twitter hack.
• Authorities seized 42 BTC and other crypto assets, ensuring O’Connor cannot profit from the high-profile account breaches.

British national Joseph James O’Connor has been ordered to repay £4.1 million ($5.4 million) in Bitcoin linked to the scam. James O’Connor is one of the key figures behind the notorious 2020 Twitter hack involving high-profile figures such as former U.S. President Barack Obama.

The announcement was made by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on Monday. This is just one of the many scam cases involving crypto.  

O’Connor, now 26, was previously sentenced to five years in prison in the United States after pleading guilty to charges that included computer intrusion, wire fraud, and extortion. His crimes stem from the July 2020 cyberattack that compromised some of the world’s most influential Twitter accounts, including those of Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Kim Kardashian.

The attackers used the hijacked accounts to solicit cryptocurrency and threaten public figures. O’Connor was arrested in Spain in 2021 after the country’s High Court determined that the United States was the appropriate jurisdiction for prosecution due to the location of most evidence and victims. After his extradition, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2023.

Ordered to Surrender 42 Bitcoin and Other Crypto Assets

The CPS said it had secured a civil recovery order allowing authorities to seize 42 Bitcoin and additional crypto assets tied to O’Connor’s criminal activity. The assets were frozen during extradition proceedings, and now they will be liquidated by a court-appointed trustee.

Prosecutor Adrian Foster emphasized that UK authorities will act even when convictions occur abroad, stating:

One of the Most High-Profile Hacks in Twitter’s (X’s) History

The 2020 attack became one of the most high-profile security incidents to hit the platform. The breach forced the company to temporarily restrict verified accounts, highlighting major vulnerabilities in its internal tools.

With the recovery order now in place, authorities have taken another step toward preventing O’Connor from profiting from one of the most widely publicized cybercrimes of the past decade.