A Sussex man has been charged in America in relation to the hacking of over 100 Twitter accounts belonging to users including Kim Kardashian and Barack Obama.

Mason Sheppard, from Bognor, was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and the intentional access of a protected computer following the hack in July 2020.

Sheppard, who was 19 at the time of the alleged offences, was charged alongside another UK resident, Joseph James O’Connor, who pleaded guilty to the offences earlier today in the US.

Sheppard, known under the alias Chaewon, is said to have been involved in the group who reportedly orchestrated one of the biggest hacks in social media history.

Among the accounts targeted were those of US President Joe Biden, who was running for office at the time, and Twitter owner Elon Musk.

The hackers used social engineering tricks to get access to the Twitter accounts and send out tweets asking followers to send bitcoin to an account, promising to double their money.

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O’Connor, also known as PlugWalkJoe, pleaded guilty in New York to his role in the hacking, in addition to cyberstalking and multiple other schemes.

Assistant attorney Kenneth A Polite Jnr said: “O’Connor harassed, threatened and extorted his victims, causing substantial emotional harm.

“Like many criminal actors, O’Connor tried to stay anonymous by using a computer to hide behind stealth accounts and aliases from outside the United States.

“But this plea shows that our investigators and prosecutors will identify, locate and bring to justice such criminals to ensure they face the consequences for their crimes.”

The US Department of Justice has been approached regarding Sheppard’s case.