"Joseph James O'Connor, 26, was sentenced in the US last year after admitting to his role in a sophisticated cyberattack that saw him gain access to dozens of celebrity and corporate Twitter accounts. He used the compromised profiles to promote fraudulent Bitcoin schemes, scamming victims worldwide. O'Connor also threatened several celebrities with the release of private messages and images unless they paid him in cryptocurrency."
"The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now secured a Civil Recovery Order to seize 42 Bitcoin - along with other digital assets - that O'Connor obtained through the scheme. The recovered cryptocurrency is worth approximately £4.1 million at today's market value. The CPS Proceeds of Crime Division worked closely with agencies in the United States and Spain, where O'Connor was arrested, to ensure he could not conceal or transfer the assets before the order was enforced. Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said the action demonstrates the reach of UK authorities even when offenders are convicted overseas. "Joseph James O'Connor targeted well-known individuals and used their accounts to scam people out of their crypto assets and money," he said. "We were able to use the full force of our powers to ensure that even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we can still prevent them from benefiting from their criminality.""
Joseph James O'Connor, 26, was sentenced in the United States after admitting involvement in a July 2020 cyberattack that breached dozens of celebrity and corporate Twitter accounts. He used compromised profiles to promote fraudulent Bitcoin schemes and threatened to release private messages and images unless victims paid in cryptocurrency. The Crown Prosecution Service obtained a Civil Recovery Order to seize 42 Bitcoin and other digital assets obtained through the scheme, valued at about £4.1 million. The CPS Proceeds of Crime Division worked with agencies in the US and Spain to prevent asset concealment and stop O'Connor benefiting from his criminality.
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