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FBI agents arrested a 25-year-old Alabama man on Thursday in connection with the January 9 hacking incident. Securities and Exchange Commission”sX account. Prices have been sent. Bitcoin Prices increased by more than $1,000, Ministry of Justice announced.
The man, Eric Council Jr., appeared late Thursday in U.S. District Court in Huntsville, Alabama, on charges of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, and was held without bail, according to the Clerk of Courts’ Office. commanded.
Prosecutors say the Athens resident carried out a so-called SIM swap attack, reassigning a person’s mobile phone number linked to the SEC’s X account to the subscriber identity module of a phone controlled by the council. claims.
He then allegedly shared the access code to the X account with his co-conspirators, who used the code to widely distribute fake tweets purporting to be based on the network’s president, Gary Gensler. There is.
“Today, the SEC grants approval to list #Bitcoin ETFs on all registered national securities exchanges,” the tweet read.
After the fake tweet, the price of Bitcoin rose by more than $1,000.
Shortly after, the SEC took back control of the social media accounts and announced that the tweets were false and the result of a hack.
“The value of BTC has since fallen by more than $2,000 per Bitcoin,” the Justice Department noted.
The hack occurred as the SEC was considering approving an exchange-traded fund to hold the cryptocurrency.
The day after the hack, the SEC approved a rule change allowing the creation of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
Council, who used the online handles “Ronin,” “Easymunny” and “AGiantSchnauzer,” allegedly received compensation in Bitcoin from co-conspirators for their role in the hack.
Then, the Internet is buzzing with terms like “SECGOV hack,” “Telegram SIM swap,” “How do I know for sure if I’m under investigation by the FBI,” and “What are the signs I’m under investigation?” He is said to have conducted a search. “Even if you are not contacted by law enforcement or the FBI, you will be contacted by law enforcement or the FBI,” the Justice Department said.
The council is next scheduled to hold a detention hearing in a Huntsville courtroom on Tuesday.
His case will be prosecuted in federal court in Washington, D.C., where a grand jury handed down the indictment against him.
CNBC has reached out to the federal defense attorney appointed to represent the council in the case for comment.
Council’s mother, Kimberly Council, said in an interview with CNBC that she was shocked by the news of her son’s arrest.
“My son has never had any problems,” said Huntsville resident Kimberly Council. “He has never been detained for his academic experience at the school.”
She said she has not spoken to Eric since his arrest and does not know if he has retained an attorney for the criminal case.
Kimberly said Eric is currently unemployed, but in the past he made a living doing app-based food delivery.
Kimberly said she was “overwhelmed, as you can imagine,” by the arrest.
“I love my son. He’s a special person. He’s always been very unique. I hope he gets through this in his own way.”
“I’m just trying to understand what’s really going on.”