In short
- An Alabama man who helped SIM swap a cellphone tied to the SEC’s X account obtained a 14-month jail sentence.
- After having access to the account, his co-conspirators posted a faux Bitcoin ETF approval put up, resulting in an increase BTC’s worth.
- Eric Council Jr. of Athens, Alabama beforehand pleaded responsible to conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft.
An Alabama man who helped hack the Securities and Alternate Fee’s X account final 12 months to falsely announce the approval of Bitcoin ETFs obtained a 14-month jail sentence on Friday.
Eric Council Jr. of Athens, Alabama beforehand pleaded responsible to conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft for his function within the January 2024 SIM swap assault.
Council, who additionally goes by “Ronin” and “Agiantschnauzer,” used a conveyable ID card printer to create a faux ID, which was then used to assist safe a substitute SIM card for the cellphone quantity hooked up to the @SECGov account on X (previously Twitter).
Utilizing the substitute SIM, Council was capable of procure the reset entry codes for the regulator’s X account, finally sharing with co-conspirators who falsely posted concerning the approval of the Bitcoin ETFs, manipulating the value of BTC within the course of.
In June 2024, pursuant to a search warrant, the FBI discovered a laptop computer the place Council lived that contained web searches for phrases like, “How can I do know for certain if I’m being investigated by the FBI?” and “What are some indicators that the FBI is after you?”
He was finally arrested in October of final 12 months.
The faux approval tweets led to a short rise within the worth of Bitcoin, however 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 formally announce approval of the Bitcoin ETFs, permitting the merchandise to be traded in america. Bitcoin’s worth has greater than doubled since then, and now trades at $103,876.
On high of Council’s jail time period, he’s ordered to forfeit $50,000 and can have three years of supervised launch, with a situation that he could not “entry the darkish net or commit additional identification fraud.”
“Schemes of this nature threaten the well being and integrity of our market system,” stated U.S. Lawyer Jeanine Pirro, in an announcement. “SIM swap schemes threaten the monetary safety of common residents, monetary establishments, and authorities businesses. Don’t idiot your self into considering you possibly can’t be caught. You may be caught, prosecuted, and pays the value for the injury your actions create.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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