Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Dani Anguiano

UK man who pleaded guilty to celebrity Twitter hack gets five years in prison

British citizen Joseph James O'Connor is lead by Spanish police officers as he leaves a court in 2020.
British citizen Joseph James O'Connor is lead by Spanish police officers as he leaves a court in 2020. Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters

A British man who took part in schemes to hack the Twitter accounts of celebrities, including Joe Biden and Elon Musk, was sentenced to five years in prison, the US attorney’s office announced on Friday.

Joseph James O’Connor, 24, pleaded guilty to cybercrime charges last month, nearly three years after he and others in his hacking group hijacked more than 130 Twitter accounts as part of a Bitcoin scam, including those of Apple, Uber, Kanye West, Bill Gates and Barack Obama. He also pleaded guilty to stealing $794,000 in virtual currency from a New York cryptocurrency company.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.