The Bitcoin scam messages came from dozens of hijacked celebrity Twitter accounts

In what is one of the biggest hacks in social media history, dozens of scam messages were pumped out of 130 Twitter accounts, including those of Kim Kardashian, Joe Biden, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, so that their followers would send them Bitcoin.

All the tweets, sent from the hacked accounts of the likes of Barack Obama, Michael Bloomberg, Kanye West and Bill Gates in July 2020, urged the celebrities’ millions of followers to send bitcoin to an account, while pledging to double their money if she did.

And now Briton Joseph James O’Connor, 23, has admitted to hijacking celebrities’ Twitter accounts in a hack that swindled more than $180,000 from unsuspecting victims.

O’Connor, aka Plugwalk Joe, pleaded guilty Tuesday in New York to his role in the hacking, in addition to stealing $794,000 worth of cryptocurrency, cyberstalking and online extortion.

The Briton, who was extradited from Spain to the United States on April 26, also admitted conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

“O’Connor has left an impressive trail of destruction in the wake of his crime spree,” said U.S. Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey of the Northern District of California.

“This case serves as a warning that the scope of the law is long and criminals everywhere who use computers to commit crimes may face the consequences of their actions in places they did not foresee.”

O’Connor, of Liverpool, UK, will also forfeit more than $794,000 and pay restitution to the victims, prosecutors said. He faces up to 77 years in prison when sentencing on June 23.

The Briton, along with three other hackers, used social engineering tricks to gain access to the Twitter accounts and sent out tweets asking followers to send bitcoin to an account, promising to double their funds.

A hacked tweet from Biden read, “I give back to the community. All bitcoin sent to the address below will be returned twice! If you send $1,000, I’ll return $2,000. Just do this for 30 minutes.’

Another tweet from Bezos read, “I’ve decided to give back to my community. All Bitcoin sent to my address below will be returned doubled. I only do $50,000,000 max.”

Just days after the Twitter hack, O’Connor had laughed off any suggestion that he was the one behind it.

“I don’t care — they can come and arrest me,” O’Connor told the New York Times in July 2020 about his ties to the breach. ‘I would laugh at them. I have done nothing.’

But two years later, O’Connor admitted to being behind the big hack.

In 2019, O’Connor and the three other hackers also used a technique known as SIM card swaps to access the social media accounts of two media stars, unnamed in court documents but named in press releases as TikTok star Addison Rae and actress Bella. thorn.

The group threatened to release their private photos and other information.

O’Connor would have used this access to post self-promotional messages on TikTok, including a video in which his voice is recognizable, according to the US Justice Department.

He also stalked and threatened a minor in June and July 2020. O’Connor called local police several times, falsely claiming that the victim threatened to shoot people to endanger the minor, according to the US Justice Department.

O’Connor later called several of the victim’s relatives and threatened to kill them, the department added.

In another case, the hackers used the same technique to steal $794,000 worth of virtual currency from a New York cryptocurrency company. Prosecutors said O’Connor will forfeit the money and pay restitution to the victims.

‘O’Connor’s criminal activities were egregious and malicious, and his behavior impacted the lives of several people. He harassed, threatened and coerced his victims, causing significant emotional damage,” Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite said in a statement.

Like many criminal actors, O’Connor sought to remain anonymous by hiding behind stealth accounts and aliases from outside the United States through a computer.

“But this (guilty) plea shows that our investigators and prosecutors will identify, locate and try such criminals to ensure they face the consequences of their crimes.”

O’Connor was charged along with compatriot Mason Sheppard of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, and two Americans, Graham Ivan Clark and Nima Fazeli.

Sheppard, who US authorities previously said is also known as Chaewon, was 19 years old when the crimes took place in July 2020.

He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and willful access to a secure computer.

In July 2021, Florida teen Graham Ivan Clark, the alleged mastermind of the hacking group, was sentenced to three years in prison under a plea deal.

Clark, only 17 when he was indicted, was sentenced to the maximum allowed under Florida’s Youthful Offender Act.

Prosecutors said the plans included gaining unauthorized access to social media accounts on Twitter in July 2020 and a TikTok account in August 2020. Along with his co-conspirators, O’Connor stole at least $794,000 worth of cryptocurrency.

The July 2020 Twitter attack hijacked several verified accounts, including those of then Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk, who now owns Twitter.

The accounts of former President Barack Obama, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jeff Bezos, Michael Bloomberg and Kanye West were also hit.

The hackers used the accounts to request digital currency, prompting Twitter to block some verified accounts from publishing posts for hours until security could be reinstated.