An Athens man pleaded guilty today in connection with his role in a conspiracy last year to hack into the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and publish fraudulent posts in the name of the then-SEC Chairman.
Eric Council, 25, entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft in United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Council was arrested Oct. 17.
Council’s plea was entered before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson in the District of Columbia. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. His sentencing is scheduled for May 16.
According to court documents, on Jan. 9. 2024, Council conspired with other individuals to take unauthorized control of the @SECGov X account and sent out a fake post in the name of the SEC chair, announcing, “Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.”
Shortly after the post, the price of BTC increased by more than $1,000 per bitcoin.
The SEC quickly regained control over their account and confirmed that the announcement was both unauthorized and a security breach. Following this corrective disclosure, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per bitcoin.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri said Council hacked the page by “using the stolen identity of a person who had access to the account to take over their cellphone number.”
“The FBI works to identify, disrupt, and investigate cyber-enabled frauds, including SIM swapping,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist. “SIM swapping is a method bad actors exploit to illicitly access sensitive information of an individual or company, with the intent of perpetrating a crime. In this case, the unauthorized actor allegedly utilized SIM swapping to manipulate the global financial market.
“The FBI will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners around the country and globe to hold accountable those who break U.S. laws.”
Courtesy of 256 Today.
