UK man behind the infamous Twitter hack that targeted celebrity accounts is charged with $784,000 BTC theft.

One of the suspects behind the infamous Twitter hack that targeted celebrity accounts and promoted a bitcoin scam is facing new charges in connection with a cryptocurrency-related crime. The UK man is charged with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud for allegedly stealing $784,000 in cryptocurrencies through a series of SIM-swap attacks. 

Joseph James O’Connor was charged in Manhattan over allegedly stealing several cryptocurrencies. 

According to the Reuters report, Joseph James O’Connor was charged in Manhattan over allegedly stealing BTC, Ether, and Litecoin. Authorities said O’Connor and his accomplices, who are yet to be arraigned in court, engaged in SIM-swap attacks in which they took control of the victim’s accounts and drained them. The scheme allegedly ran from March to May 2019 and targeted three Manhattan crypto firm executives. After gaining access to the executives’ online identities, the suspects allegedly stole the cryptocurrencies from two clients of the Manhattan firm. They then laundered the money they stole.

If convicted of the crimes, Joseph will face over two decades behind bars.

The charges against the 22-year-old include aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit computer hacking. If he’s convicted of the crimes, he will face over two decades behind bars. The SIM-swap attacks are the latest charges against the 22-year-old, known as PlugwalkJoe in online circles, which involve digital currencies. O’Connor has been named as one of the men behind the 2020 Twitter hack that targeted the accounts of political figures, celebrities, and digital currency companies.