In brief
- An Alabama man who helped SIM swap a phone tied to the SEC’s X account received a 14-month prison sentence.
- After gaining access to the account, his co-conspirators posted a fake Bitcoin ETF approval post, leading to a rise BTC’s price.
- Eric Council Jr. of Athens, Alabama previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft.
An Alabama man who helped hack the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account last year to falsely announce the approval of Bitcoin ETFs received a 14-month prison sentence on Friday.
Eric Council Jr. of Athens, Alabama previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft for his role in the January 2024 SIM swap attack.
Council, who also goes by “Ronin” and “Agiantschnauzer,” used a portable ID card printer to create a fake ID, which was then used to help secure a replacement SIM card for the phone number attached to the @SECGov account on X (formerly Twitter).
Using the replacement SIM, Council was able to procure the reset access codes for the regulator’s X account, ultimately sharing with co-conspirators who falsely posted about the approval of the Bitcoin ETFs, manipulating the price of BTC in the process.
In June 2024, pursuant to a search warrant, the FBI found a laptop where Council lived that contained internet searches for phrases like, “How can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI?” and “What are some signs that the FBI is after you?”
He was ultimately arrested in October of last year.
The fake approval tweets led to a brief rise in the price of Bitcoin, but retraced even steeper as then-SEC Chairman Gary Gensler confirmed the regulator’s account was hacked.
A day after the incident, on January 10, the SEC did officially announce approval of the Bitcoin ETFs, allowing the products to be traded in the United States. Bitcoin’s price has more than doubled since then, and now trades at $103,876.
On top of Council’s prison term, he is ordered to forfeit $50,000 and will have three years of supervised release, with a condition that he may not “access the dark web or commit further identity fraud.”
“Schemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, in a statement. “SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of average citizens, financial institutions, and government agencies. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can’t be caught. You will be caught, prosecuted, and will pay the price for the damage your actions create.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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