London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 07, 2026

Twitter Celebrity Hacker Pleads Guilty In US

Twitter Celebrity Hacker Pleads Guilty In US

Joseph James O'Connor, 23, entered his guilty plea in a New York court after being extradited from Spain on April 26.
A British man pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in schemes to hack the Twitter accounts of celebrities like Barack Obama and Elon Musk and stealing $794,000 in cryptocurrency.

Joseph James O'Connor, 23, entered his guilty plea in a New York court after being extradited from Spain on April 26.

He was arrested nearly two years ago in Spain for the July 2020 hack of over 130 Twitter accounts, including those of Apple, Uber, Kanye West, Bill Gates, Joe Biden, Obama and Musk.

He and others in his hacking group hijacked the accounts and asked the owners' followers to send them bitcoin, promising to double their money.

In 2019 the group also used a technique known as sim card swaps to break their way into social media accounts of two media stars, not named in court filings but named in press reports as TikTok star Addison Rae and actress Bella Thorne.

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

In addition, they used the same technique to steal $794,000 of virtual currency from a New York cryptocurrency company.

O'Connor, who went by the online name of PlugwalkJoe, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of computer intrusion, extortion, stalking, wire fraud and money laundering.

The most serious of the charges brings up to 20 years in prison.

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

Clark, only 17 when he was charged, was sentenced to the maximum allowed under Florida's Youthful Offender Act.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
University of Bristol Opens £500 Million Innovation Campus
Families Give Evidence to Independent Review of Sussex Maternity Failures
Sweden Confirms Deportation of 458 British Citizens Over Post-Brexit Residency Rules
UK Launches £3 Million Challenge for Long-Duration Energy Storage
Reform UK Proposes £100 Billion in Spending Cuts and Brownfield Deregulation
Andy Burnham Warns Macron That EU Procurement Rules Could Hurt British Steel
Andy Burnham Faces Major Decision on Future North Sea Oil and Gas Drilling
SEND Support in England Projected to Reach One in 10 Pupils
England’s Housing Courts Struggle With Surge in No-Fault Eviction Cases
Violent Clashes Erupt in Portsmouth During Protest Against Asylum Processing
Three-Quarters of NHS Emergency Staff Report Regular Violence or Aggression
UK Considers Converting Female Prison Space for Male Inmates as Overcrowding Worsens
UK House Prices Record First Annual Decline in Nearly Three Years
UK Government Reassesses Policy Toward Israel Amid Calls for Diplomatic Shift
Reform UK Faces Police Scrutiny Over Alleged Foreign Donations Scheme
University of Bristol Opens £500 Million Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus
Online Bookmakers Accused of Privacy Breaches Through Cookie Consent Practices
Health Campaigners Urge UK Government to Abandon U.S. Pharmaceutical Agreement
Three-Quarters of UK A&E Staff Report Regular Violence or Aggression
Far-Right Demonstrations Target Portsmouth as Small-Boat Crossings Fuel Tensions
UK Records Hottest Summer on Record After Severe Heatwaves
UK Travellers Face Renewed EU Border Delays as Temporary Flexibility Ends
UK Rejects Calls to Pause AI Data Centre Expansion Despite Energy Concerns
UK Defence Figures Push for 3% Spending Target Amid Falklands Concerns
England Faces Rising Financial Pressure as Special Educational Needs Plans Surge
Metropolitan Police Consider Reform UK Probe Over Overseas Donations
Keir Starmer to Leave Parliament, Triggering By-Election
UK Treasury Weighs Windfall Taxes on Banks and Oil Companies Amid Bond Market Turmoil
Jaguar Land Rover to Cut Thousands of Jobs as UK Government Rules Out Bailout
OpenAI Unveils GPT-6 and Says: "We May Already Have Reached AGI"
Congressman Accused Andrew of Sex Crimes in the United States
Donald Trump: "I'm Glad Harry and Meghan Left the United States"
Spicy Food Is Linked to Lower Death Risk — but It Is Not a Miracle Cure
AfD Enters Saxony-Anhalt Election at 41% in Historic Test for German Politics
Gen Z Turns to Investing as America's First-Home Dream Moves Further Out of Reach
Thousands Join London March Calling for Tighter Abortion Restrictions
Institute of Directors Says Tax and Regulatory Uncertainty Still Weighs on UK Investment
Bank of England Faces Rate Dilemma as Weak Growth and Persistent Inflation Raise Stagflation Risks
Masked Anti-Immigration Protesters Block Roads to Port of Dover
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Sets Out Devolution and Re-Industrialisation Agenda
British Chambers of Commerce Forecasts UK Growth of Just 1% Through 2027
UK Government Advances Bill to Tighten Rules on Overseas Political Donations
Nigel Farage Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Reform UK Donation-Law Evasion
Thousands Join Anti-Abortion March Through Central London
UK Beekeepers Call for Nationwide Tracking as Asian Hornet Sightings Increase
England Sees Sharp Rise in Property Subsidence Claims After Record Summer Heat
House of Lords Advances Financial Services Reform Bill
House of Lords Begins Detailed Scrutiny of Railways Bill and Great British Railways Plan
UK Treasury Cuts Green Book Discount Rate to Support More Regional Infrastructure Projects
Reform UK Suspends Two Senior Aides After Undercover Report on Foreign Donation Rules
×