James O’ConnorBritish citizen known as “Plugwalk Joe” what was this Arrested in Estepona in July 2021 He appeared before the National Court this Monday after alleged hacking of US President Joe Biden’s Twitter account, but accepted his right not to testify, assuring that he did not know why he was being summoned again. court. “I don’t know what this view is about”said.
The young man’s defense insisted that he did not know why the extradition hearing, which had been held before the National Court in March 2022, was repeated. The lawyer had O’Connor testified already in that case, so this time the Briton chose to take advantage of him. right to remain silent.
Following the defense’s insistence on why the hearing was repeated, the tribunal announced that the hearing, held in March 2022, would continue this Monday, as the procedure was paralyzed by the preliminary ruling presented to the court. of the Ministry of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the application of the so-called Petruhhin doctrine in this case.
Specifically, Luxembourg was asked whether a British national who committed the alleged acts attributed to him before and during Brexit would be extradited in the ‘post-Brexit’ period.
The CJEU replied that the Petruhhin doctrine “is not appropriate to apply to a third country extradition request of a British national who was a European Union citizen at the time of the events leading up to the extradition request”. permanently residing in the territory of another Member State before and during the validity of the Withdrawal Agreement”.
But the defense insisted O’Connor should not be delivered to the United States. According to him, Spain should ask United Kingdom if you want to claim him for the facts attributed to him. In support of his claim, the lawyer cited other cases in which the National Court preferred this procedure over extradition.
Attorney General in favor of extradition
The prosecution, on the other hand, favors the extradition of O’Connor to the United States. The Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor reiterated its criteria when examining this case, as the ABAD decided. the doctrine advanced by the defense cannot be applied.
Therefore, the prosecutor was interested in allowing the surrender of the British to the US authorities. “We believe there is a good legal outlook for the extradition request.“, said the representative of the Public Ministry.
As the prosecution stated, the hacker’s actions will be punished in Spain with one of the crimes of discovery and disclosure of secrets and extortion, so when these crimes are included in Spanish law, it is possible for them to be turned over. He joined to stand trial in the USA.
Moreover, O’Connor also allegedly accused of bitcoin theftHe is charged with illegal access to computer systems, computer fraud, money laundering and membership of a criminal organization.
Hacks to Obama, Bill Gates, Apple and Uber
According to the United States Department of Justice, ‘hacking’ would start in July 2020 and would target Twitter accounts of all kinds of characters, among them those of Biden and former US President Barack Obama, as well as those of businessman Bill Gates or those of Apple and Uber.
In its initial report, the prosecution revealed that O’Connor would be conspiring to “conspiracy” aimed at “exchange access to illegally and unauthorizedly obtained Twitter accounts for cryptocurrency payments.” “Plugwalk Joe” He would later have established relationships with three more people to whom he would sell them and launder the proceeds through online currency transactions.
According to US officials, O’Connor committed a scam by offering his followers from these profiles that they could double their deposits in Bitcoins in a virtual account. The FBI launched an investigation involving multiple teams, including the United States Secret Service, UK officials, and the US. national police, The one who eventually arrested O’Connor at his home in the city of Malaga.
In addition to his “role in the Twitter hack”, O’Connor was reportedly “involved” in two hacks on social media accounts associated with two prominent figures, and was also accused of “cyberbullying against a minor victim”.
Also, in June 2020, O’Connor could have participated in what’s known as ‘swatting’, a kind of prank performed by calling emergency services and simulating false alarms. So, using a 16-year-old girl’s phone, she would have called the Garden Grove Police Department and the county fire department in California to report events that never actually happened.
In addition to the previously reported cases, the United States has filed a new extradition request, which includes illegal access to computer systems, computer fraud, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization, and has obtained prosecutor’s approval for its delivery.