The National Court allowed the US Extradition of 23-year-old British teenager alleged to have participated in various actions computer attacks, such as hacking in July 2020 From 130 Twitter accountsincluding those of US President Joseph Biden, his predecessor, barack obamaor co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates. He is also accused of blackmailing another person through his social networks and robbery over the Internet.
In one decision, the judges of the Second Criminal Division of the Hearing consider that the necessary conditions have been met to proceed with the surrender. Joseph James O’Connor aka ‘Plugwalk Joe’For 14 charges in the United States that would be equivalent to those in Spain disclosure and disclosure of secrets, membership of a criminal organization, blackmail, illegal access to computer systems, computer fraud and money laundering.
The Chamber rejects all defense arguments, including the disproportionateness of the sentences for which the defendant could be sentenced in or in the United States. jurisdiction will be vested in the Spanish courts.because the computer servers used are in Spain.
better situation
The judges noted not only that no criminal proceedings were brought against the accused in Spain, but that the United States in a better position to prosecute the facts because the evidence obtained in the investigation is there, and that is where the damage occurred. And they refuse to criticize the punishment that the plaintiff State imposed on them.
Documents provided by the United States describe numerous computer attacks that O’Connor allegedly participated in. Arrested in Estepona (Málaga) in July 2021against, including the above 130 Twitter accounts like Biden, Obama and Bill Gates. It also describes the hacking of a well-known person’s Snapchat account, which he tried to blackmail and harass by threatening to spread it. nude photos.
The defendant is also linked to several “swatting” incidents, namely, fake calls from law enforcement to create an emergency response with false statements. In these, the accused allegedly reported to Police various baseless threats that prompted agents to act, including communications that an armed and dangerous person wanted to blow up an airport or kill his wife and children.
American authorities requested an extension of the extradition period so that they could also prosecute him for various computer intrusions. stealing money and cryptocurrencies that are later laundered through transfers and transactions.
The order emphasizes that the US alleged him for “harassment, that is, with the intent to commit a crime.”year, harassing a person in another State and causing significant emotional distressuse interstate and foreign trade facilities, including an interactive computer service and an electronic communications service, to engage in behavior that causes significant emotional distress to the victim and places the victim in a reasonable fear of death or grievous bodily injury”.