Hacker Eric Council Jr. pleaded responsible Monday to expenses of conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry system fraud after he took over the SEC’s X account in January 2024. As soon as Council gained entry to the account, his unnamed co-conspirators posted a doctored picture, message, and pretend quote by then SEC Chairman Gary Gensler saying Bitcoin Alternate Traded Funds (ETC) have been authorised, which prompted the foreign money’s worth to spike greater than $1,000.
The 25-year-old Alabama resident had used a SIM-swapping assault to maneuver a telephone quantity related to the @SEC account to the SIM card in an iPhone he had bought. After others obtained the non-public info of an individual with entry to the account, Council printed off a faux ID and used it to get AT&T to provide him management of their quantity in order that he may have the account’s restoration codes despatched to his personal telephone. The co-conspirators paid Council in Bitcoin for his function within the scheme.
Investigators discovered after Council’s arrest that he’d made some selection searches, together with: “What are the indicators that you’re beneath investigation by legislation enforcement or the FBI even in case you have not been contacted by them.”
Council is scheduled for sentencing on Could sixteenth and faces a most penalty of 5 years in jail.