A 23-year-old Briton has pleaded guilty to hacking into more than 100 Twitter accounts, including those of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian and Elon Musk, in one of the biggest hacks in social media history.
Joseph James O’Connor, also known as PlugwalkJoe, pleaded guilty Tuesday in New York to charges of his role in the July 2020 hack, in addition to cyberstalking and several other counts.
O’Connor was extradited from Spain on April 26 to face charges that carry a maximum sentence of more than 70 years in prison.
According to the US Department of Justice, O’Connor was charged along with his compatriot Mason Sheppard, of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, and two Americans, Graham Ivan Clark and Nima Fazeli.
Joseph James O’Connor being escorted out by Spanish police officers on July 22, 2021
Sheppard, also known as Chaewon according to US authorities, was 19 years old when the crimes took place in July 2020, according to Protected Calculator.
On Tuesday, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division described O’Connor’s criminal activities as “blatant and malicious” and said his behavior “affected the lives of several people.”
The attorney added: “He harassed, threatened and blackmailed his victims, causing significant emotional damage.
“Like many criminal actors, O’Connor attempted to remain anonymous by using a computer to hide behind stealth accounts and aliases from outside the United States.
O’Connor admitted his role in hacking the Twitter accounts of celebrities such as Barack Obama and Bill Gates
“But this plea (guilty) shows that our investigators and prosecutors will identify, track down and bring to justice such criminals to ensure they face the consequences for their crimes.”
The US Department of Justice said O’Connor has engaged in exploits of social media accounts, as well as online extortion and cyberstalking.
The hackers used social engineering tricks to gain access to the Twitter accounts and sent out tweets asking followers to send bitcoin to an account and promising to double their funds.
The 23-year-old also pleaded guilty to other hacking crimes, including gaining access to a high-profile TikTok account.
The US Department of Justice said he also used technology to track a minor.
O’Connor will be sentenced June 23.
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