The National Court of Spain has approved the extradition of Joseph James O’Connor, a British national accused of involvement in computer attacks, which includes the hacking of Twitter accounts belonging to prominent figures like Joseph Biden, Barack Obama, and Bill Gates in July 2020, to the United States.
According to a court statement released on Friday, all necessary conditions have been satisfied for the extradition of Joseph James O’Connor to the United States to face 14 charges, which include offenses such as disclosing classified information, being a part of a criminal organization, unauthorized entry into computer systems, internet fraud, money laundering, and extortion.
He is accused of hacking some 130 Twitter accounts.
The court document said
O’Connor, a 23-year-old from Liverpool, England, was apprehended in the Spanish coastal town of Estepona in July 2021.
In addition, he is being sought after for hacking into the Snapchat account of an unidentified public figure and allegedly attempting to extort them with the threat of releasing their explicit photos. Moreover, he is wanted for engaging in multiple instances of “swatting,” which involve making false emergency calls to prompt a large police presence at various locations.
Despite the arguments presented by O’Connor’s legal team that he should be tried in Spain due to the location of the servers he employed, the court dismissed their claims. The statement indicated that he is being sought after by courts in both the Northern District of California and the Southern District of New York, and the extradition ruling can be challenged through an appeal.
+ There are no comments
Add yours