A UK court has ordered Joseph James O’Connor, the British cybercriminal behind the massive 2020 Twitter hack, to repay illicit gains now valued at over $5 million. This ruling seeks to recover funds obtained through a Bitcoin scam that compromised high-profile accounts such as those of Barack Obama and Elon Musk. Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Proceeds of Crime Division, stated: “We were able to use the full force of the powers available to us to ensure that even when someone is not convicted in the UK, we are still able to ensure they do not benefit from their criminality.”
The civil recovery order issued by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) targets assets including approximately 42 Bitcoin, 235 Ethereum, and stablecoins, the combined value of which has risen to about $5.4 million (£4.1 million) due to market appreciation. O’Connor, who is already serving a five-year sentence in the United States after pleading guilty in 2023, used SIM swapping techniques to hijack profiles and solicit cryptocurrencies under the false promise of doubling victims’ transfers.
Can justice recover digital assets years after the crime?
This case highlights the ability of international authorities to trace and seize digital assets long after the crime was committed. The original 2020 incident not only exposed critical vulnerabilities in social media cybersecurity, but also demonstrated how social engineering can escalate into a global financial threat. At the time, the attackers managed to raise nearly $794,000, a figure that has multiplied exponentially, making the current seizure a significant victory for regulators.
The ruling establishes an important precedent for cross-border cooperation in the fight against cybercrime. On the other hand, it sends a strong message to digital criminals: gains obtained through cryptocurrency fraud are not beyond the reach of the law, regardless of market fluctuations or the jurisdiction of the criminal conviction. Likewise, a trustee has been appointed to liquidate the seized assets and manage restitution.
Thus, while O’Connor continues his prison sentence, authorities ensure that the spoils of his crimes will not be waiting for him upon his release. The recovery of these funds marks the closing of one of the most notorious chapters in the history of social media scams, warning of the persistent risks of asset custody in an increasingly sophisticated digital environment.
