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Hacker Behind Musk & Obama Bitcoin Scam Faces Staggering $5M Bill as Stolen Crypto Soars

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The British hacker accountable for one of the vital notorious Twitter breaches in current historical past has been ordered to give up greater than £4 million ($5 million) in cryptocurrency, after the worth of his stolen digital property surged throughout his time behind bars.

Joseph James O’Connor, 26, was jailed in the United States in 2023 for orchestrating the July 2020 Twitter assault that compromised the accounts of world figures, together with Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Kim Kardashian, and different world leaders, tech executives, and main manufacturers.

Using entry to Twitter’s inner administrative instruments, O’Connor and his accomplices hijacked more than 130 accounts and pushed tweets urging followers to ship Bitcoin with guarantees of receiving double in return.

Prosecutors mentioned the group collected greater than $794,000 within the rip-off.

Authorities Seize Millions in Crypto From Convicted Twitter Hacker Despite US Conviction

This week, the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed it had secured a civil restoration order concentrating on 42.378 BTC, 235.329 ETH, 143,273.57 BUSD, and 15.23 USDC linked to O’Connor, now valued at roughly £4.1 million.

The property, as soon as price solely a fraction of that quantity on the time of the hack, can be liquidated by a court-appointed trustee. O’Connor, who now lives in Spain, didn’t take part within the London listening to, however his mom mentioned he was keen to forfeit all remaining curiosity within the funds.

O’Connor pleaded responsible within the United States to a protracted checklist of offenses, together with pc intrusion conspiracies, wire fraud conspiracy, cash laundering conspiracy, extortion, threatening communications, and stalking a 16-year-old sufferer.

He was extradited from Spain and sentenced to 5 years in jail earlier than being deported earlier this yr.

The CPS had beforehand obtained a Property Freezing Order throughout extradition proceedings to stop the cryptocurrency from being moved.

Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, mentioned the case exhibits that authorities will pursue legal earnings even when convictions happen abroad.

“We have been ready to make use of the complete drive of the powers obtainable to us to make sure that even when somebody shouldn’t be convicted within the UK, we’re nonetheless ready to make sure they don’t profit from their criminality,” he mentioned.

Bitcoin Surge Amplifies Value of Assets Stolen in 2020 Twitter Hack

Bitcoin’s rise has elevated the worth of O’Connor’s stolen holdings. At at present’s worth close to $92,800, nearly ten occasions increased than in mid-2020, the remaining property ballooned to greater than £4.1 million, prosecutors mentioned.

BTC Weekly Price Chart Source:Cryptonews

The Twitter breach was one of many largest social media safety failures ever recorded. X, then Twitter, briefly locked down verified accounts as the rip-off unfold to greater than 350 million customers.

Investigators later mentioned two unwitting British associates opened crypto accounts utilized by O’Connor however weren’t concerned within the fraud.

The case arrives throughout a interval of heightened concern over crypto-related cybercrime, with governments worldwide reporting fast development in refined digital extortion schemes.

Law enforcement businesses have additionally identified a pointy rise in crypto laundering. According to Global Ledger information cited within the filings, hackers stole more than $3 billion throughout 119 incidents within the first eight months of 2025 alone, already surpassing 2024’s complete by 1.5 occasions.

Meanwhile, separate enforcement actions proceed internationally. In November, the US Justice Department launched efforts to grab more than $15 million in USDT tied to North Korea’s APT38 hacking unit, related to a collection of main 2023 change breaches.

Europol additionally dismantled a cybercrime syndicate accountable for creating more than 49 million fake online accounts, together with fraudulent profiles on crypto platforms, utilizing a large-scale SIM-farm infrastructure.

Despite rising world investigations, current information suggests the trade is experiencing short-term enhancements in safety.

October 2025 was recorded as the most secure month of the yr for crypto platforms, with solely $18.18 million misplaced to hacks, an 85% drop from September.

The submit Hacker Behind Musk & Obama Bitcoin Scam Faces Staggering $5M Bill as Stolen Crypto Soars appeared first on Cryptonews.

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