PanamaTimes

Thursday, Apr 16, 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

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
President Trump warns countries against abandoning recent trade deals with the US
Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing showcases future robot deployment during Spring Festival Gala.
Cuba adopts electric tricycles for transport amid fuel shortages
Cuba's fuel crisis leads to mounting waste in Havana
Eighty-Year-Old Lottery Winner Sentenced to 16.5 Years for Drug Trafficking
UK Green Party Considering Proposal to Legalize Heroin for an Inclusive Society
Investigation Launched at Winter Olympics Over Ski Jumpers Injecting Hyaluronic Acid
Wall Street Erases All Gains of 2026; Bitcoin Plummets 14% to $63,000
Cuba Warns It Has Only Weeks of Oil Remaining as US Pressure Tightens
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
America’s Venezuela Oil Grip Meets China’s Demand: Market Power, Legal Shockwaves, and the New Rules of Energy Leverage
There is no sovereign immunity for poisoning millions with drugs.
President Trump Says United States Will Administer Venezuela Until a Secure Leadership Transition
Delta Force Identified as Unit Behind U.S. Operation That Captured Venezuela’s President
Trump Announces U.S. Large-Scale Strike on Venezuela, Declares President Maduro and Wife Captured
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
Hackers Are Hiding Malware in Open-Source Tools and IDE Extensions
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
Nancy Pelosi Finally Announces She Will Not Seek Re-Election, Signalling End of Long Congressional Career
Erling Haaland’s Remarkable Run: 13 Premier League Goals in 10 Matches and Eyes on History
White House Refutes Reports That US Targeting Military Sites in Venezuela
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Trump Accuses Colombia’s President of Drug-Leadership and Announces End to US Aid
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
FBI Strikes Deep in Maduro’s Financial Web with Bold Money-Laundering Indictments
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
New World Screwworm Creeps Within Seventy Miles of U.S. Border, Threatening Cattle Sector
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
In a highly politically motivated trial, Brazil’s Supreme Court finds former leader Bolsonaro guilty of plotting coup
×