US Prosecutors to Propose Plea Deal to SEC X Account Hacker

US Prosecutors to Propose Plea Deal to SEC X Account Hacker

U.S. federal prosecutors are reportedly preparing to offer a plea deal to Eric Council Jr., an Alabama resident charged with hacking the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January. This incident involved a fake post about spot Bitcoin ETF approvals, which briefly impacted Bitcoin’s price.

Prosecutors Seek Cooperation from SEC X Account Hacker in Plea Deal

During a recent hearing at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Rosenberg confirmed that prosecutors intend to propose a plea deal to Council, though it’s uncertain whether he will accept. The cooperation of Council, if agreed upon, could aid federal authorities in identifying other alleged participants in the scheme.

Council was arrested last week on charges of “conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.” Prosecutors allege that Council and co-conspirators took control of the SEC’s social media account, posting an unauthorized message suggesting that spot Bitcoin ETFs had been approved, which caused Bitcoin’s price to jump over $1,000 in anticipation.

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The allegations indicate that Council and his co-conspirators used SIM swapping to compromise the SEC’s social media account. Council allegedly obtained personal details from a victim via co-conspirators, including a name and photo, to create a fake ID. With this ID, he reportedly visited an AT&T store in Huntsville, Alabama, to acquire a SIM card linked to the victim’s phone number. Council then accessed the SEC’s account with an iPhone purchased with cash, using this SIM card to retrieve account access codes.

The case, presided over by Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who also oversees a separate SEC case involving Binance, has set December 4 as the deadline for both parties to submit plea documents should an agreement be reached. Prosecutors hope Council’s cooperation may reveal further details about other individuals involved in the attack.

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