A British court has ordered Joseph James O’Connor to hand over $5.4m million in Bitcoin linked to the notorious 2020 Twitter breach that exposed the accounts of several global figures.
The scam struck at the height of the US election season and saw the profiles of Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk and others used to push fraudulent cryptocurrency requests.
O’Connor, now 26, admitted charges of computer intrusion, wire fraud and extortion in the United States and received a five-year sentence in 2023.
He was arrested in Spain two years earlier before being extradited when the country’s High Court agreed the case was best handled in America, where most victims and evidence were based.
Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said the civil recovery order covers 42 Bitcoin and additional crypto assets tied to the scheme.
Prosecutor Adrian Foster noted that the ruling shows the extent of powers available to prevent offenders from profiting, even if they were not convicted in the United Kingdom. The assets will be sold by a court-appointed trustee.
The July 2020 attack forced Twitter, now known as X, to place temporary limits on verified accounts after hackers gained control of several high-profile profiles, including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Kim Kardashian.
