Eric Council, Jr. was arrested by the FBI on Thursday in Athens on charges related to the January hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) social media account on X.
According to court documents, on January 9, Council allegedly conspired with others to take unauthorized control of the SEC's X account and, in the name of SEC chair Gary Gensler, prematurely announced the approval of Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds.
Immediately following the false announcement, the price of Bitcoin increased by more than $1,000 per Bitcoin. Shortly after the unauthorized post, the SEC regained control over its X account and confirmed that the announcement was unauthorized and the result of a security breach. Following this corrective disclosure, the value of Bitcoin decreased by more than $2,000.
The conspirators gained control of the SEC's X account through an unauthorized Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swap, allegedly carried out by Council. 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. As part of the scheme, Council and the co-conspirators allegedly created a fraudulent identification document in the victim's name, which Council used to impersonate the victim; took over the victim's cellular telephone account; and accessed the online social media account linked to the victim's cellular phone number for the purpose of accessing the SEC's X account and generating the fraudulent post in the name of SEC chairman Gensler.
"The indictment alleges that Eric Council Jr. unlawfully accessed the SEC's account on X by using the stolen identity of a person who had access to the account to take over their cellphone number," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "Council's co-conspirators then allegedly used this unauthorized access to the X account to falsely announce that the SEC had approved listing bitcoin ETFs, which caused the price of bitcoin to rise by $1,000 and then fall by $2,000. Council's indictment underscores the Criminal Division's commitment to countering cybercrime, especially when it threatens the integrity of financial markets."
A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment on October 10 charging Council with one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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