Eric Council Jr., the man who hacked the SEC X account last January, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison today. In addition to prison time, the council must confiscate $50,000 and be subject to three years of supervised release.
He was arrested in October 2024, and prosecutors offered to sign a contract shortly thereafter. The council apparently received it in February and pleaded guilty to accusations of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft.
What’s next for SEC X Hackers?
At the beginning of 2024, rumors about the approval of the Bitcoin ETF turned into a wave of incredible hype. So this caused market chaos when the council claimed it had hacked the SEC’s X account to gain green light.
Bitcoin rose over $1,000 shortly thereafter, and the council hunt began. Today, the story has finally come to an end.
The U.S. Lawyers’ Office has announced that the council has been declared in the infamous SEC hack. Court documents showed that they used SIM swaps to access X accounts and compromise phones.
The council continued to use similar scams until the FBI identified him in August and was arrested in October 2024.
“Schemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of the market system. SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of the average citizen, financial institutions and government agencies.
Interestingly, government prosecutors have repeatedly argued that Eric Council had several co-conspirators when committing the SEC hack. But none of them have been named, arrested or charged with anything yet.
The government offered a plea agreement to the council shortly after his arrest, provided that he would name these individuals. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in February, suggesting that he probably actually cooperated.
It seems a little strange that there has been no progress in this broader research over the past three months.
Still, the Council faces personal justice about his role in the SEC hack. He confiscated $50,000 and was sentenced to spend 14 months in prison.
After his release, he will remain under police supervision for the next three years, ensuring he will not access the dark web or commit identity fraud.
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