Alabama Man Pleads Guilty in Bitcoin Price Manipulation Scheme Involving Hacked SEC X Account

Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old from Athens, Alabama, has pleaded guilty to charges related to the January 2024 takeover of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s X (formerly Twitter) account. This hack resulted in a fraudulent post falsely announcing the approval of Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), temporarily inflating the price of Bitcoin by over $1,000.

The meticulously planned scheme involved multiple conspirators, with Council playing a crucial role. According to the official press release from the Department of Justice, “Council conspired with others who took unauthorized control of the SEC’s X account and falsely announced that the SEC approved BTC Exchange Traded Funds, a decision highly anticipated by the market.” The impact was immediate: “Immediately following the false announcement, the price of BTC increased by more than $1,000 per bitcoin.”

However, the gains were short-lived. The SEC quickly regained control of its account and clarified that the announcement was a hoax, the result of a security breach. “Following the correction, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per bitcoin,” the press release stated.

Council’s involvement centered around a sophisticated SIM swap operation. “A SIM swap refers to the process of fraudulently inducing a cell phone carrier to reassign a cell phone number from the legitimate subscriber or user’s SIM card to a SIM card controlled by a criminal actor,” the DOJ explained. To facilitate this, Council manufactured a fake ID. “As part of the scheme, Council used an identification card printer to create a fraudulent identification card with a victim’s personally identifiable information obtained from his co-conspirators. Council used the fraudulent identification card to impersonate the victim and gain access to the victim’s cellular phone number for the purpose of accessing the SEC’s account.” His co-conspirators then leveraged this access to post the false announcement in the name of the SEC Chairman. Council received payment in Bitcoin for his contribution to the scheme.

Council pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. He now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and is scheduled for sentencing on May 16.

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