(Bloomberg) – An Alabama man pleaded guilty to joining a Securities and Exchange Commission X account hack.
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Eric Council Jr., 25, admitted to conspiring to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud in Washington federal court on Monday. Judge Amy Berman Jackson set the sentencing date on May 16th.
Prosecutors accused the council of using fake IDs and stepping down local telephone store employees to help victims access calls. They said he was led by a co-conspirator who was able to first identify the victim and break through X's security measures, previously known as Twitter.
The account hack occurred a day before analysts expected the SEC to announce approval for the Spot Market Bitcoin ETF. A fake post by a hacker on January 9, 2024 caused a surge in Bitcoin prices. The cryptocurrency value fell after the SEC “confirmed that the announcement was not permitted,” according to the accusations. The agent announced its approval of the ETF the following day.
The ETF approval was enthusiastically anticipated by the market and came after a long legal battle between the SEC and the publisher of one of the products.
The case is in the District of Columbia (Washington), U.S. District Court, 24-CR-457, 24-CR-457 (Washington).
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