An Alabama man pleaded guilty Monday to the 2024 hack of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account which temporarily caused the Bitcoin value to sharply drop.
Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old Athens man, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity and access device fraud.
Council is set to be sentenced in May and faces up to five years in federal prison.
The unauthorized takeover of the SEC’s X account happened on Jan. 9, 2024.
Court records show Council visited AT&T and Apple stores in Huntsville and Birmingham as part of the conspiracy. Following the X takeover, Council made internet searches that included, “What are some signs the FBI is after you?”
The fake post under the name of then SEC Chairman Gary Gensler falsely announced that the SEC approved exchanged traded funds to buy and sell the digital currency, a decision that at the time was highly anticipated by the market.
Following the post, the price of bitcoin increased by more than $1,000 per bitcoin.
The SEC quickly regained control over its X account and confirmed that the announcement was false and the result of a security breach.
Following the correction, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per bitcoin.
Council and his co-conspirators gained control of the SEC’s X account through an unauthorized Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swap 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 used an identification card printer to create a fraudulent identification card with a victim’s personally identifiable information obtained from his co-conspirators. The victim was identified in court documents only as “C.L.”
The indictment against Council states that on Jan. 9, once notified by his co-conspirators to proceed, he went to an AT&T store in Huntsville claiming to be an FBI employee who broke his phone and needed a new SIM.
Council used the fraudulent identification card to impersonate “C.L.” and get access to the victim’s cellular phone number for the purpose of accessing the SEC’s account.
He then walked to the Apple store in Huntsville where he bought a new iPhone and inserted the new SIM so he could receive the two-factor security reset codes for the SEC’s X account.
Council’s co-conspirators then accessed the account and posted in the name of the SEC chairman.
After the fake post was sent out on X, Council then drove to Birmingham to return the iPhone for cash. He destroyed the SIM.
Court documents say Council, who used the online monikers “Ronin,” “AGiantSchnauzer” and “Easymunny,” received $50,000 for his role in the scheme.
After the X hack, records show, Council’s internet searches included questions such as, “How can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI” and “What are some signs the FBI is after you.”
The FBI Washington Field Office and SEC Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
For more information on SIM swapping, visit www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA240411
