Federal authorities announced on Thursday the arrest of Eric Council Jr. in Alabama, accusing him of involvement in the hacking of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission X account earlier this year.
According to an indictment, the hack occurred on January 9, when a false post was published claiming that the SEC had approved Bitcoin ETFs for listing on U.S. securities exchanges. This misleading announcement reportedly drove up the price of Bitcoin by $1,000, as noted in a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia.
The indictment details how Council allegedly collaborated with unnamed co-conspirators to execute a SIM swap on the phone of an individual, referred to as “C.L.,” who had access to the SEC X account. Authorities claim Council received payments for facilitating such SIM swaps, including the one linked to the SEC incident.
On the day of the hack, a co-conspirator provided Council with instructions and personal information for the SIM swap. Council then went to an AT&T store using a fake ID he created for C.L., posing as an FBI agent who needed a new SIM card due to a broken phone.
After obtaining a new iPhone for the swap, Council used it to receive a reset code for the @SECGov account, which he forwarded to a co-conspirator who then accessed the account and posted the fraudulent announcement. Following the incident, Council returned the iPhone for cash in Birmingham, Alabama.
Prosecutors highlighted that Council conducted multiple Google searches related to the hack, including queries about being investigated by the FBI and methods for performing SIM swaps.
He now faces charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.
