An Alabama man was apprehended on Thursday for his suspected involvement in the hack of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) social media account in January that triggered a surge in the price of bitcoin, according to the Justice Department.
Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old resident of Athens, is accused of participating in the breach of the SEC’s account on X, previously known as Twitter, which enabled the hackers to prematurely announce the approval of long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Following the announcement, the price of bitcoin experienced a sudden spike of over $1,000.
However, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler swiftly clarified on his personal account that the SEC’s account had been compromised, and that no approval had been granted for the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products. The unauthorized post was deemed invalid without further explanation.
Investigators allege that Council executed a “SIM swap” by using a counterfeit ID to impersonate an individual with access to the SEC’s X account, persuading a mobile phone store to provide him with a SIM card linked to the person’s phone. This action enabled Council to take control of the individual’s cellphone number and obtain access codes to the SEC’s X account. He then shared this information with accomplices who breached the account and made the false post, as per the Justice Department.
It was reported that after Council returned the iPhone used in the SIM swap, his online search history indicated queries such as “What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them.”
Council faces charges in Washington’s federal court for conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. The price of bitcoin fluctuated from approximately $46,730 to just under $48,000 following the unauthorized post on January 9, dropping to around $45,200 after the SEC’s clarification. The SEC officially approved the first exchange-traded funds holding bitcoin the subsequent day.