Eric Council Jr., the individual accused of helping compromise the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X account, may have to forfeit $50,000 under a proposed plea agreement.
On February 9, U.S. federal prosecutors filed a forfeiture order in the District Court for the District of Columbia, requiring Council to surrender the money he allegedly gained from the fake Bitcoin ETF approval post in January 2024.
As part of the plea deal, Council would plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. The court has scheduled his sentencing for May 16, 2025. If convicted, he could face a minimum of two years in prison, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Authorities claim Council was part of a group that took control of the SEC’s X account through a SIM swap attack. The hackers used the breach to post a fake announcement featuring SEC Chair Gary Gensler, falsely claiming the commission had approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
The post, published on January 9, 2024, caused Bitcoin’s price to jump by over $1,000 before Gensler denied its authenticity. Less than 24 hours later, the SEC officially approved spot Bitcoin ETFs, a decision widely anticipated in the crypto industry.
Council was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in October 2024 but pleaded not guilty. He was later released on a personal recognizance bond, allowing him to travel outside the jurisdiction for the holidays.
At the time of publication, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had yet to sign off on the forfeiture order.
