US prosecutors considering plea deal for SEC X account hacker

Federal prosecutors are considering a plea deal offer for Eric Council Jr., the Alabama man recently arrested for hacking the X account of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bloomberg reported on the latest development in the SEC X account hack on Friday, Oct. 25.

According to Bloomberg, U.S. attorney Kevin Rosenberg told U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson at a hearing on Oct. 25 that the prosecution is planning a plea deal. However, the government is not sure whether the offer will be accepted.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations arrested Council, 25, last week. In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, noted that the suspect’s hacking and posting of a fake message on the SEC’s account on X had led to Bitcoin (BTC) price spiking by $1,000 as the market reacted.

Council and others are alleged to have used a SIM-swap attack to gain unauthorized access and to take over the U.S. securities market regulator’s social media account. This came as the crypto industry awaited the SEC’s approval of the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds for the U.S. market, a period of heightened positive sentiment.

When the SEC regained control of its account, and confirmed an earlier announcement as fake and the result of a SIM swap attack, crypto prices fell sharply. Sentiment swung wildly, flipping negative for BTC as its price slipped more than $2,000 within minutes.

The SEC went on to approve spot BTC ETFs, a development that catalyzed a surge in bitcoin price to its all-time high of $73k.

Charges against Council included device fraud and conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft. The suspect allegedly received a payment in BTC from unnamed sources for his successful SIM swap attack.