SEC Hacker Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison

Source: Cointelegraph Original: “SEC Hacker Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison”

A federal judge sentenced Eric Council Jr. to 14 months in prison for his involvement in posting false announcements on the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), claiming that a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF would be approved.

After a hearing held on May 16 at the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., the Department of Justice announced that Council will serve 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro stated: “Such schemes threaten the health and integrity of our market system. SIM card swapping schemes jeopardize the economic security of ordinary citizens, financial institutions, and government agencies.”

Council is one of a group of people who invaded SEC’s X account through a SIM swap attack in January 2024. Prosecutors had requested the judge to impose a two-year prison sentence, while Council’s lawyer requested a sentence of one year and one day. Court documents show that he earned approximately $50,000 through a similar SIM swap attack on SEC’s X account, which may be subject to forfeiture.

The judge ordered the Council to undergo 36 months of supervised release after serving his sentence. As of the time of publication, it is unclear when he will report to prison, but he has been released on a personal recognizance bond since his arrest in October 2024.

Council is a recently sentenced individual who has attracted attention in the cryptocurrency industry. Although most of the high-profile criminal cases involving executives from the cryptocurrency exchange FTX have been concluded, other cases are still ongoing.

On May 8, former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to two felony charges. The criminal trial of former SafeMoon CEO John Karony is also expected to continue for several days in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Related articles: Another 12 people have been charged with participating in a $263 million cryptocurrency theft ring, with the funds being squandered on nightclubs and luxury cars.