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FBI agents arrested a 25-year-old Alabama man Thursday morning on suspicion of hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission's X account in January, resulting in price gouging. Bitcoin The Department of Justice announced an increase of more than $1,000.
The man, Eric Council Jr., is charged with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, according to the Department of Justice.
The Athens resident is scheduled to appear later Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
After the Council played a key role in the January 9th hack, it published several articles including “SECGOV Hack'', “Telegram SIM Swap'', “How to Know for Sure If You're Under Investigation by the FBI'', “ He allegedly conducted an internet search that included the term. “Even if you haven't been contacted by law enforcement or the FBI, what are the signs that you are under investigation?” the Justice Department said.
The council conspired with others to hack SEC accounts, and on January 9, in the name of agency Chairman Gary Gensler, wrote, “Today, the SEC will list all registered securities on #Bit.'' He is accused of sending a fake tweet that read, “I give approval for Coin ETF.'' National stock exchange. ”
After this fake tweet was posted, the price of Bitcoin increased by more than $1,000.
Shortly after, the SEC took back control of the social media accounts and announced that the tweets were false and the result of a hack.
“Following this corrective disclosure, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per Bitcoin,” the Department of Justice noted.
The council allegedly received compensation in Bitcoin from co-conspirators for its role in the hack.
The hack occurred at a time when the SEC was considering whether to approve the sale of exchange-traded funds that hold the cryptocurrency.
The day after the hack, the SEC approved a rule change allowing the creation of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
According to the Department of Justice, the council, which used the online handles “Ronin,” “Easymunny” and “AGiantSchnauzer,” is accused of using a so-called SIM swap scheme to pull off the hack. SIM swapping involves a scammer tricking a mobile phone service provider into taking control of a victim's phone.
The council allegedly received an ID card template with the victim's name and photo from a co-conspirator and used the ID car's printer to create a fake ID.
“The court found that the victim presented a false ID at a mobile phone provider's store in Huntsville, Alabama, and proceeded to obtain a SIM card linked to the victim's phone line,” the Justice Department said.
“He then purchased a new iPhone with cash and used those two items to obtain an access code to the @SECGov X account,” which he then shared with a co-conspirator who used it to X account was accessed, the Justice Department said.
Prosecutors said Councilor drove to Birmingham to return the iPhones he had used for SIM swaps in exchange for cash after receiving payments from other councilors.
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