The U.S. Department of Justice has charged an Athens man with hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s account on X to make a bitcoin announcement. (File)
The U.S. Department of Justice Thursday charged an Athens man with hacking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account and claim the federal agency had approved a new bitcoin service.
The DOJ says that Eric Council, Jr., 25, managed to create a document to impersonate a person that allowed a group of conspirators to take over the victim’s phone and accessing the SEC’s account on the website, formerly known as Twitter, to “prematurely announced the approval of bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds.”
“Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges,” the message said.
“Immediately following the false announcement, the price of bitcoin increased by more than $1,000 per bitcoin,” DOJ said in a statement Thursday. “Shortly after this unauthorized post, the SEC regained control over its X account and confirmed that the announcement was unauthorized and the result of a security breach. Following this corrective disclosure, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per bitcoin.”
According to the Washington Post, the SEC approved the Exchange Traded Funds, which allow banks and investment firms to sell ETFs that possess bitcoin, a few days later.
Attempts to find an attorney representing Council Thursday evening were unsuccessful.
DOJ accuses the conspirators of getting access to the phone through a SIM swap, in which people fraudulently convince a a cell phone carrier to reassign a cell phone number from its original subscriber or subscriber’s SIM card to one controlled by a criminal actor.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia alleged that Council printed a fake ID with the victim’s information, then purchased a phone with a SIM card linked to the victim’s account at a cell phone store in Huntsville. After the tweet was sent, the office said, Council drove to Birmingham to exchange the phone for cash.
“He later conducted internet searches for ‘SECGOV hack,’ ‘telegram sim swap,’ ‘how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI,’ and ‘What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them,’” the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged.
Council was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, according to DOJ. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison.
Council indictment Oct 17 2024
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