Eric Council Jr. was sentenced to 14 months in prison for US SEC X account hack, fake Bitcoin ETF post, and SIM swap conspiracy.
Eric Council Jr., 26, of Athens, Alabama, was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison for his involvement in the cybercrime conspiracy.
The case involved the hacking of the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Eric Council Jr. was sentenced to 14 months in prison.
According to a statement from federal authorities, Eric Council Jr. conspired with others to gain access to the US SEC's X account through a SIM swap.
On January 9, 2024, a false post was published by the account, falsely claiming that the SEC had approved Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Bitcoin's price surged above $1,000 before falling after the SEC confirmed the post was illegitimate.
Eric Council Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit felony identity theft in February 2025. U.S.
District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced him to 14 months in prison, ordered him to forfeit $50,000 and serve three years of supervised release.
He is prohibited from accessing the dark web or engaging in any activity related to identity fraud during the period of supervision.
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