Man behind Barack Obama and Jeff Bezos Twitter hacks to repay over $5 million in stolen bitcoin

Social media hacker Joseph James O'Connor is going to have to give back the over $5.3 million worth of bitcoin he made from a SIM-swapping scheme involving accounts from former President Barack Obama to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. 

In 2023, O'Connor, 26, pleaded guilty in the U.S. on multiple charges and was later sentenced to five years in prison. U.S. prosecutors said the UK citizen and others gained unauthorized access to dozens of social media accounts — including on X (then known as Twitter), TikTok, and Snapchat — "to steal a large amount of cryptocurrency." 

O'Connor was able to access "one of the most highly visible TikTok accounts" and later "targeted another public figure," according to the U.S. prosecutors. Together, the group hacked into more than 130 X accounts, including accounts held by Apple, Uber, Kanye West, and Bill Gates, The Guardian reported. In addition to using their access to "defraud other Twitter users" the co-conspirators also, in some instances, sold access to these high-profile accounts, according to the DOJ. 

"Joseph James O’Connor targeted well known individuals and used their accounts to scam people out of their crypto assets and money," said Adrian Foster, chief crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime Division, in a statement. 

On Monday, British authorities said they are looking to recover 42 bitcoin and other ill-gotten assets. The crypto will now be liquidated by a court-appointed trustee, the authorities said. At the time of O’Connor's sentencing in 2023, the crypto seized was worth $794,000.

O’Connor, also charged with two counts of stalking, faced up to 20 years in prison. The alleged mastermind behind the hacking group, Florida teen Graham Ivan Clark, was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention in July 2021.