An Alabama man has admitted his role in a scheme that involved hacking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Twitter account and disseminating false information to manipulate the price of Bitcoin.
Eric Council Jr., 25, of Athens, Alabama, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. The charges stem from a January 2024 incident where Council and his co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to the SEC’s official Twitter account, now known as X.
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According to court documents, Council executed a SIM swap to facilitate the account takeover. This involved fraudulently obtaining control of a victim’s phone number and using it to access the SEC’s account. Once in control, the conspirators posted a false announcement regarding the approval of Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), a highly anticipated development in the cryptocurrency market.
This false announcement caused a temporary spike in the price of Bitcoin, with the value increasing by over $1,000 per coin. However, the SEC quickly regained control of its account and corrected the misinformation, leading to a subsequent drop of more than $2,000 per Bitcoin.
Council’s sentencing is scheduled for May 16th, where he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The FBI Washington Field Office and the SEC Office of Inspector General are investigating the case.
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