Joseph James O’Connor, Cyberstalking, New York 2020

A notorious cyberstalker and hacker has been brought to justice in New York after pleading guilty to a string of cybercrimes, including the high-profile hack of Twitter in July 2020.

Joseph James O’Connor, aka PlugwalkJoe, 23, was extradited from Spain on April 26 and pleaded guilty to his role in cyberstalking and multiple schemes that involve computer hacking.

According to court documents, between 2019 and 2020, O’Connor participated in a variety of crimes associated with exploitation of social media accounts, online extortion, and cyberstalking. The defendant’s crimes impacted multiple people’s lives, causing substantial emotional harm.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Criminal Division stated, ‘O’Connor’s criminal activities were flagrant and malicious, and his conduct impacted multiple people’s lives. He harassed, threatened, and extorted his victims, causing substantial emotional harm.’

O’Connor used his sophisticated technological abilities for malicious purposes, conducting a complex SIM swap attack to steal large amounts of cryptocurrency, hacking Twitter, conducting computer intrusions to take over social media accounts, and even cyberstalking two victims, including a minor victim.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York said, ‘O’Connor used his technological abilities for malicious purposes – conducting a complex SIM swap attack to steal large amounts of cryptocurrency, hacking Twitter, conducting computer intrusions to take over social media accounts, and even cyberstalking two victims.’

The defendant’s guilty plea is a testament to the importance of law enforcement cooperation, and his extradition serves as a warning to all dangerous cyber criminals that the FBI will work tirelessly to find them and hold them accountable wherever in the world they may try to hide.

O’Connor’s crimes included participating in a conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to social media accounts maintained by Twitter Inc. and hacking the highly visible TikTok account associated with a public figure with millions of followers, which was accessed without authorization in August 2020.

The defendant agreed to purchase unauthorized access to one Twitter account for $10,000 and communicated with others regarding purchasing unauthorized access to a variety of Twitter accounts, including accounts associated with public figures around the world.

O’Connor’s plea agreement includes a sentence of [insert sentence].

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